The benefit of having EBRT plus brachytherapy is that you are likely to spend a longer amount of time after the treatment without signs that your cancer has returned.
What effect does Brachytherapy Boost have on survival at 10 years?
The evidence does NOT show a difference in the overall survival between people offered
- EBRT alone
- EBRT with Brachytherapy
- Surgery to remove the prostate
The information given on survival is taken from the NHS England clinical Commissioning Policy, based on thirteen studies.
The benefit of having EBRT plus brachytherapy is that you are likely to spend a longer amount of time after the treatment without signs that your cancer has returned.
What effect does Brachytherapy Boost have on cancer returning at 10 years?
There is good evidence that a brachytherapy boost reduces disease progression (cancer growth) compared with EBRT alone or surgery to remove the prostate.
This means that the when blood tests are carried out, such as PSA, the rate at which they indicated the growth or return of the cancer, was lower in the patients receiving a brachytherapy boost
What effect does Brachytherapy Boost have on cancer spreading at 10 years?
There is good evidence that a brachytherapy boost reduces the risk of cancer spreading to other parts of the body (distant metastases) compared with EBRT alone or surgery to remove the prostate
The information given on disease progression is taken from the NHS England clinical Commissioning Policy, based on thirteen studies.
A large, well respected scientific review of prostate trials and studies took place in 2015. This review concluded that there is no difference in side effects between EBRT alone and EBRT plus a brachytherapy boost for urinary function.
There has not been a proper study or trial to directly compare HDR boost with LDR boost.
There have been individual small studies looking at the side effects of HDR and LDR. The results from these smaller studies should be interpreted with care and with the help from a health professional.
A large, well respected scientific review of prostate trials and studies took place in 2015. This review concluded that there is no difference in side effects between EBRT alone and EBRT plus a brachytherapy boost for bowel function.
There has not been a proper study or trial to directly compare HDR boost with LDR boost.
There have been individual small studies looking at the side effects of HDR and LDR. The results from these smaller studies should be interpreted with care and with the help from a health professional.
There is no difference in sexual function - between patients treated with EBRT plus Brachytherapy boost or EBRT alone.
There is some evidence that sexual function is better with EBRT plus Brachytherapy boost than having surgery to remove the prostate.
The information given on side effects is taken from the NHS England clinical Commissioning Policy, based on thirteen studies.