Prostate cancer and radioactive particle implantation therapy

  In developed countries such as Europe and the United States, prostate cancer is already the number one tumor in men. At present, radioactive particle implantation has become the standard treatment for prostate cancer, especially, iodine 125 particle implantation has accounted for 60% of the treatment for early prostate cancer. In China, the treatment concept of prostate cancer is also gradually changing.  Radioactive particle implantation therapy is a treatment that involves implanting radioactive particles inside the tumor and allowing the rays to destroy the tumor. The technique of particle implantation therapy involves radioactive particles, the core of which are the radioactive isotopes iodine 125, palladium 103, etc. Nowadays, iodine 125 is commonly used. Nowadays, Iodine 125 is commonly used, and the radioactive particle implantation treatment technology mainly relies on the stereotactic system to accurately implant the radioactive particles into the tumor, which is highly targeted and kills the tumor tissues to the maximum, while the normal tissues are not damaged or only slightly damaged.  As early as 1909, the Radium Radiation Biology Laboratory in Paris, France used a catheter to place radium needles into the prostate gland, completing the first case of brachytherapy for prostate cancer. However, the early technique was not widely used because the improper dose could cause serious damage to the patient’s rectum. It was not until 1931, when Swedish researchers introduced the concept of brachytherapy and invented the dose table calculation method, that the risk of complications was reduced. In the 1970s, New York Memorial Hospital pioneered the use of trans-pubic interstitial radioactive particle implantation for prostate cancer, forming the basis for today’s iodine 125 particle implantation therapy for prostate cancer.