The Myths and Facts About Prostate Brachytherapy

Posted by Steven J. Frank, MD, FACR, FABS, FASTRO | Feb 2022

Steven J. Frank, MD, presented “The Myths and Facts About Prostate Brachytherapy” as part of a course on Prostate Brachytherapy released in 2021 and created by the American Brachytherapy Society in partnership with Grand Rounds in Urology.

How to cite: Frank, Steven J. “The Myths and Facts About Prostate Brachytherapy.” September 2021. Accessed Apr 2024. https://grandroundsinurology.com/the-myths-and-facts-about-prostate-brachytherapy/

The Myths and Facts About Prostate Brachytherapy – Summary

As part of a special course on brachytherapy for prostate cancer from the American Brachytherapy Society and Grand Rounds in Urology, Steven J. Frank, MD, Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Medical Director of the Proton Therapy Center at MD Anderson, and leader of both the Proton Therapy Program for Head and Neck Cancer and the Prostate Brachytherapy Program, introduces the many myths about brachytherapy and dispels them with data, revealing the truth of brachytherapy and its effects. He shows data asserting that patients under 60 and obese patients are great candidates for brachytherapy. Dr. Frank then discusses how radiation exposure to a patient’s family is less than the cost of a flight from New York City to San Francisco, and that brachytherapy has great curative ability based on a PSA of .2 ng/ml at 4 years. He describes how long-term data and outcomes for brachytherapy are in the treatment’s favor, showing that it is an excellent option for low-, intermediate-, and high-risk cancer. Dr. Frank states that patient satisfaction is greater with brachytherapy than other treatments due to low rates of urinary incontinence and reduction in sexual function, and no penile shortening or treatment regret. He summarizes how salvage therapy and salvage brachytherapy following radiation have been found to be effective but require skilled and experienced teams. Dr. Frank also discusses asymptomatic seed migration 3 years after implantation, the lack of data on hair loss, the safety of cremation, and how MRI-assisted radiosurgery is an innovation in brachytherapy. He concludes that brachytherapy has been found to be the most innovative, cost-effective, satisfying, and curative prostate cancer treatment.

For more on brachytherapy, check out the first module of the free Prostate Brachytherapy course from GRU and the American Brachytherapy Society.

About The Author

Steven J. Frank, MD, FACR, FABS, FASTRO

Steven J. Frank, MD, is an endowed tenured professor of Radiation Oncology and holds the Bessie McGoldrick Professorship in Clinical Research at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Frank is the Executive Director of the Particle Therapy Institute and Deputy Head of Strategy for the Division of Radiation Oncology. Dr. Frank was instrumental in facilitating the restructuring of MD Anderson’s Proton Therapy Center through an asset acquisition and a subsequent expansion of a second Proton Therapy Center to advance Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy (IMPT). Dr. Frank is amongst the first, if not the first, to use IMPT to treat head and neck tumors, and he is the Principal Investigator of an NIH/NCI -sponsored multi-institutional Phase II/III randomized trial in advanced-stage oropharyngeal cancer that compares outcomes after chemoradiation given by IMRT versus IMPT. Dr. Frank has approximately 300 peer-reviewed publications, has authored many book chapters, and has recently published the first textbook on Proton Therapy, based on the MD Anderson experience. Dr. Frank’s lab is studying the biologic enhancement factor of proton therapy and FLASH radiotherapy for head and neck cancer, as well as MRI-Assisted Radiosurgery (MARS) as the next generation of prostate brachytherapy. Dr. Frank’s expertise in MRI radiotherapy has led to the development and FDA approval of multiple novel positive-contrast implantable markers for use in MRI-guided LDR and HDR prostate brachytherapy and external beam radiation therapy. As founder of the company, C4 Imaging, Dr. Frank has developed the MRI marker technology at MD Anderson, has been granted 31 national and international patents, developed three FDA-approved products, and has established MRI-Assisted Radiosurgery (MARS) at MD Anderson for the treatment of prostate cancer. He has funding from the NIH, the Prostate Cancer Foundation, the Texas Ignition Fund, Hitachi, and MD Anderson, and he has also raised multiple rounds of private equity financing to advance C4 technology. Dr. Frank has served as the past President and Chairman of the Board of the American Brachytherapy Society and is the 2023 recipient of the Ulrich Henschke Award, the highest honor awarded by the ABS to a practitioner of brachytherapy. Dr. Frank has served as the chair for the head and neck oral boards for the American Board of Radiology over the last six years and will join the Board of Trustees in October 2023. Dr. Frank is a fellow of the ABS, ACR, and ASTRO. Prior to entering medicine, Dr. Frank served in the military as a U.S. Navy Diver and submarine officer on the fast attack nuclear submarine USS Batfish (SSN-681). He is married to Dr. Ivy Frank, a veterinarian, and his hobbies include golf, flying, and coaching softball for his four daughters.

Join the GRU Community

- Why Join? -

Share This

Chat with usLiveChat