It was odd to be one of the first patients to receive a new treatment for prostate cancer, but if it meant the side effects would not last as long, Henry Ham was grateful to receive it.聽

Ham, who was treated by radiation oncologist , at at the 石榴视频黄色版 says it鈥檚 been almost two months since his procedure, and he鈥檚 halfway through the side effects.

鈥淚 give rave reviews about the team and Dr. Marshall. Everything鈥檚 worked well,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had our one-on-one consults, and Dr. Marshall鈥檚 been very accommodating. He takes the time to answer all my questions. It鈥檚 been a good experience, if you can call what I鈥檓 doing a good experience.鈥�

Dr. Marshall was the first in the world to use Blu Build real-time Cesium-131 brachytherapy (internal radiation therapy) delivery system October 26, 2018, and he has since treated 12 patients.

鈥淏rachytherapy is putting a radioactive source in or right around the target, in this case, the prostate,鈥� Marshall explains. The type of brachytherapy used at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center is seed implantation. 鈥淲e use little radioactive pellets and place them in and around the prostate. The new technology allows us to combine two beneficial approaches that we haven鈥檛 been able to combine before.鈥�

Previously, radioactive pellets were placed individually in and around the prostate. Since they were not connected to each other there was a tendency for them to move around. 石榴视频黄色版 a decade ago, Marshall and his team were instrumental in developing a technique to help resolve this issue. This technique enabled them to build custom links of seeds in the operating rooms. 鈥淲e could put in a strand of radioactive seeds. We could put them outside the prostate, and they wouldn鈥檛 float away,鈥� Marshall says.

The challenge was the technology wasn鈥檛 compatible with Cesium seeds, unlike the new Blu Build technology. The benefit of Cesium seeds versus other types of radioactive seeds is that the side effects tend to go away faster. On average, those treated with cesium seeds tend to see side effects, such as bladder dysfunction, lasting within three to six months as opposed to one to two years. The cesium seed has been around for a while and has been used in the treatment of over 10,000 prostate patients, but previously seeds had to be placed individually. The benefit of this new technology is the ability to create custom links of the Cesium seeds.

鈥淣o two patients are exactly alike,鈥� says Marshall. 鈥淲hat this brachytherapy system provides physicians is a real-time means to individually customize and deliver a precise placement of Cesium-131 brachytherapy seeds tailored to the patient鈥檚 anatomy and cancer as the physician is seeing it in the operating room at the time of surgery,鈥� Marshall says. 鈥淎nd we are the first place in the world to use these technologies together.鈥�

The delivery system conveys additional benefits beyond shortening duration of side effects as brachytherapy enables doctors to deliver a high radiation dose to the targeted prostate cancer and limits the impact on the surrounding areas compared to other treatment options.

This system, designed specifically to treat prostate cancer, uses a disposable, single use, next-generation device and is unique in that it is the first to be handheld offering a new level of maneuverability.

Marshall says, 鈥淩andomized clinical trials have shown that seed implant brachytherapy is as effective, and sometimes more effective than other treatments for prostate cancer, and it鈥檚 not always widely available. The idea is that if we can bring these two technologies together, the cesium seed with the custom-built links, we may be able to make it easy for people to implement this at other institutions, so that more people can benefit from having seed implants in treating prostate cancer.鈥�

It is estimated 165,000 people per year in the U.S. get prostate cancer and 29,000 deaths are predicted for 2018. In South Carolina alone, over 3,000 men a year will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. 鈥淎nything we can do to continue to improve the process, the treatments, the technology and bring that forward to our patients, that鈥檚 what we are all about here at Hollings,鈥� Marshall says.

鈥淗ere at Hollings Cancer Center, we are proud to continue our legacy as innovators dedicated to bringing the very best in medical advancements and care to our patients.鈥�

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