New prostate radiation shows promise

DALLAS, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- A U.S. clinical trial is testing the effectiveness of stereotactic body radiation therapy, or SBRT, to treat prostate cancer in five, 30-minute sessions.

The SBRT technique is a relatively new procedure used for treating localized tumors by delivering very high doses of focused radiation, said study leader Dr. Robert Timmerman of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

"There are a number of good treatments for prostate cancer, but they all have some drawbacks -- they’re inconvenient; they’re invasive; or they cause impotence, rectal injury or urinary incontinence," Timmerman said in a statement.

"This new treatment mimics the dose deposition of brachytherapy -- implanted radioactive seeds -- but it is done non-invasively, in an outpatient setting, without making any incisions, needle punctures or anesthesia -- the beauty of it is that the patient only has to come in for five outpatient treatments and is finished in a week and a half."

Timmerman has treated 11 patients in Dallas using the new method with only minor side effects.