IsoRay tests Cs-131 brachytherapy seed for colorectal cancer
The first Cesium-131(Cs-131) implant for the treatment of colorectal cancer was performed by doctors at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City on Oct. 10, 2009, and the patient had no evidence of cancer recurrence or any side effects that can be attributed to the Cs-131 seed implant at the last follow-up visit, according to IsoRay.
Bhupesh Parashar, MD, A. Gabriella Wernicke, MD, and K.S. Clifford Chao, MD, from the department of radiation oncology, and Jeffery W. Milsom, MD, from the department of gastrointestinal surgery, performed the implant.
The implant was performed on a 38-year-old patient with locally recurrent colon cancer who underwent surgical resection of the tumor as a part of the treatment. “The patient tolerated the procedure well and had no evidence of cancer recurrence or any side effects that can be attributed to the Cs-131 seed implant at the last follow-up visit,” Parashar said.
Cs-131 was chosen for its short half-life and higher dose rate. In addition, the Cs-131 seed brachytherapy procedure had the advantage of relative safety to the medical staff (because of faster radioactive dose fall-off) if the patient required additional medical care soon after the implant, according to IsoRay, the sole producer of the Cs-131 brachytherapy seed.
IsoRay, based in Richland, Wash., said that Cs-131 is expanding brachytherapy options for patients beyond the prostate to locally recurrent cancers like lung, head and neck, and ocular melanoma.
Bhupesh Parashar, MD, A. Gabriella Wernicke, MD, and K.S. Clifford Chao, MD, from the department of radiation oncology, and Jeffery W. Milsom, MD, from the department of gastrointestinal surgery, performed the implant.
The implant was performed on a 38-year-old patient with locally recurrent colon cancer who underwent surgical resection of the tumor as a part of the treatment. “The patient tolerated the procedure well and had no evidence of cancer recurrence or any side effects that can be attributed to the Cs-131 seed implant at the last follow-up visit,” Parashar said.
Cs-131 was chosen for its short half-life and higher dose rate. In addition, the Cs-131 seed brachytherapy procedure had the advantage of relative safety to the medical staff (because of faster radioactive dose fall-off) if the patient required additional medical care soon after the implant, according to IsoRay, the sole producer of the Cs-131 brachytherapy seed.
IsoRay, based in Richland, Wash., said that Cs-131 is expanding brachytherapy options for patients beyond the prostate to locally recurrent cancers like lung, head and neck, and ocular melanoma.