A recent Australian article, written by Jill Margo and published in The Australia Financial Review (Feb. 24, 2011) states that, “The biggest comparative study in the world is showing that, for a long-term cure, seed therapy appears to be the most effective treatment. Alone or in combination with other treatments, it appears most effective across all risk groups, from men with low-risk cancer through to those with high-risk disease.” Tom Pickles, professor and radiation oncologist at the British Columbia Cancer Agency, Canada, presented interim results at the Urological Society of Australia and NZ’s conference in Christchurch from a study overseen by an international panel of 27 experts from around the world. The study assimilated data from more than 18,000 articles written from 2000 to 2010. So far the results from the study show that in men with low-risk cancers, seeds produce a cure rate of around 90 percent compared with 80 percent for surgery or traditional radiation.

“Whatever the risk category, the results of seeds are probably better than surgery,” Pickles says. “As you go along the spectrum from low- to high-risk diseases, the differences between surgery and seeds increase.”

Pickles also states that men’s quality of life is significantly better after brachytherapy compared to surgery, particularly in their sexual function. He says, “…seed therapy is less invasive than other treatments and there is good evidence it is the preferred and best treatment option of all treatments for preserving erectile function.”