Dr. R. Alex Hsi is a Radiation Oncologist at the Peninsula Cancer Center in Poulsbo, Washington. As a practitioner of various prostate radiation treatments like external beam radiation and stereotactic body radiation therapy in addition to brachytherapy, he offers an objective point of view on brachytherapy’s most recent developments and delivered value.
Dr. Hsi thinks that part of brachytherapy’s value lies in the collaborative nature of the procedure.
“I think brachytherapy provides an opportunity for what I call a win-win situation,” said Dr. Hsi. “Both [urologists and radiation oncologists] participate and both can support the patient through this process.”
Dr. Hsi mentions the latest developments in brachytherapy that continue to validate its credibility, including the ASCENDE-RT study, as well as new technologies within the world of prostate cancer treatment itself, like SpaceOAR hydrogel. ASCENDE showed that for patients with high risk prostate cancer some of the best outcomes are generated by a combination of EBRT and brachytherapy.
Dr. Hsi is also a user of Iodine and Palladium in addition to Cesium for brachytherapy.
“I’ve been using Cesium more recently because it has a very short half-life so patients will get over their treatment side-effects very quickly and also provides a very nice homogeneous dose to the prostate,” he said.
When asked to compare patient results for those treated with Palladium versus Cesium, Dr. Hsi says, “What clearly I found was that the Cesium patients did recover from their side effects much more quickly than the Palladium patients.”
If you are a clinician responsible for the care of men with prostate cancer and want to learn more about the advancements, latest science and how brachytherapy benefits your practice, contact us to schedule a call or visit today.
