Brachytherapy is an innovative cancer treatment that places radiation directly inside the tumor, or at the surgical margin allowing for a highly targeted treatment dose to be delivered to the target region, while limiting dose to surrounding, critical structures. Cesium-131 seeds are the size of a grain of rice and release a personalized radiation dose over a period of days. This allows effective treatment while minimizing damage to nearby tissue, and thereby limiting side effects.

Advantages

• Used to treat tumors of the brain, head and neck, gynecologic, prostate, lungs and other solid mass tumors.
• Places the radiation directly where it will do the most good, and limits dose to surrounding tissues.
• Minimally invasive, with no surgical incision and thus has shorter recovery times than other invasive treatments. (1)
• Is one of the most cost effective treatment options available.
• Has good local control rates for several types of cancers.
• Customized to deliver the treatment dose your physician determines is the best to treat your cancer.
• Allows for additional treatment options, including surgery, radiation, cryosurgery, hormonal therapies, and others.
• When placed at the time of the surgical procedure, does not require repeat visits for treatment, as with typical radiation procedures.

The word brachytherapy derives from the Greek prefix brachy, meaning “short” or “close,” because the titanium capsules containing the radioisotope are implanted directly into the cancerous prostate gland.

Treatment of cancer using low dose radiation or “seed” brachytherapy was pioneered in the 1960’s as an effective alternative to radical prostatectomy. Pioneers in brachytherapy research initially theorized about the use of Cesium-131 in a titanium capsule, however scientific and economic limitations at the time prevented its development and Iodine-125 emerged as an alternative.

Beginning in 1967, Iodine-125 became the first radioisotope manufactured in a titanium capsule, or seed. While its use continues to this day, many patients and doctors in recent years have chosen Palladium-103, a faster-acting, shorter half-life isotope than Iodine-125. In order to obtain the clinical benefits of Palladium’s short half-life, patients and clinicians were forced to settle for lower energy or tissue penetrating power.

A team of scientists continued to believe the physical characteristics of Cesium-131* could potentially provide superior clinical benefits for seed brachytherapy patients. The team developed the patented process for economically separating and purifying Cesium-131 and in 1998 Isoray was founded to manufacture and commercialize Cesium-131 brachytherapy seeds to treat cancers.