Brachytherapy for prostate cancer

Brachytherapy is a type of internal radiation therapy in which seeds, ribbons, or capsules that contain a radiation source are placed in your body, in or near the tumor. Brachytherapy is a local treatment and treats only a specific part of your body. It is often used to treat cancers of the prostate.

Doctor and patient

Types of brachytherapy for prostate cancer

There are two main types of brachytherapy for prostate cancer: high dose rate (HDR) and low dose rate (LDR) brachytherapy.

High-dose brachytherapy for prostate cancer

Hight dose rate (HDR) Brachytherapy involves inserting small tubes or catheters into the prostate gland, allowing to deliver a targeted high dose of radiation directly to the tumor site. The procedure is quick and efficient, with the radiation source removed after just a few minutes. This means that patients can return home the same day, minimizing the disruption to their daily lives. HDR brachytherapy is often used in combination with external beam radiation therapy. By combining these treatment modalities, we're able to maximize the effectiveness in treating prostate cancer.

Low-dose brachytherapy for prostate cancer

Low Dose Rate (LDR) brachytherapy is another type of brachytherapy used to treat prostate cancer. LDR involves placing small radioactive seeds, typically made of iodine or palladium, directly into the prostate gland.

How successful is brachytherapy for prostate cancer?

HDR brachytherapy is often used in combination with external beam radiation therapy, and studies have shown that it can be effective in treating prostate cancer, with a high cure rate and low rate of side effects.

  • Effective as a cure
  • Minimized side effects
  • Minimally invasive
  • Reduced treatment times
  • Faster recovery periods

Prostate brachytherapy procedure workflow

There are various ways to treat prostate cancer with brachytherapy, watch our video that follows the real time localized prostate cancer radiation therapy workflow.

Ultrasound imaging

Automatic transversal and sagittal scanning of the prostate gland

Contouring

Define target volume and identify organs at risk during prostate radiation therapy

Tools in Oncentra Prostate to outline treatment volume and organs at risk.

  • Pearl tool
  • Semi auto contouring tool
  • Segmentation

Prostate brachytherapy dose planning

Calculate optimal dose distribution for prostate cancer cells using virtual needle and source positioning

Needle insertion

Ultrasound guided needle placement based on virtual dose plan

Reconstruction

Adapt needle positions in real-time and update target volumes for dose recalculation and evaluation

HDR Flexitron® treatment delivery

Safe, simple, intuitive high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy for prostate cancer workflow

Why Flexitron?

  • Enhanced safety and trust - Designed to prevent human error, enabling enhanced safety for clinicians and patients.
  • Best accuracy and precision - Enables the best accuracy and precision in the market, revolutionizing confidence in treatment delivery.
  • Reliability and ease of use - Continuously enhanced, allows you to treat with great ease and reliability.
  • Great flexibility - Offering personalized treatment solutions tailored to each patient's distinct needs and conditions.

"The Flexitron afterloader has a very accurate and reproducible source position. The logical and intuitive design of the software gives me confidence that we will deliver the treatment the way that it was planned. The new user interface is very user-friendly and supports an efficient workflow."

Sarah Aldridge Head of Brachytherapy Physics
Medical Physics Department, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, UK

Other indications

Find out about our Brachytherapy solutions for other indications.

Brachy­Academy

Empowering through education

Peer-to-peer education platform for brachytherapy professionals

The BrachyAcademy comprises a complete peer-to-peer medical education library and includes programs such as clinical workshops and training visits to leading hospitals worldwide.

Learn more
BrachyAcademy students sitting around a table Elekta BrachyAcademy logo

about brachytherapy

Screenshot of About Brachytherapy homepage

We've created our online educational brachytherapy portal for patients and those who are supporting patients throughout their curative treatment, to provide key information and to help those affected gain an understanding of brachytherapy.

Visit about brachytherapy

By your side

Elekta Care is your partner for success. Our people and technology keep you running reliably and efficiently while helping you to optimize outcomes and grow your practice. We are by your side to support you now and deliver a lifetime of high performance and progress.

Elekta Care