Sutter Roseville’s Prostate Seed Program has helped nearly 400 patients with prostate cancer.
When the prostate seed program launched at Sutter Roseville Medical Center in April 1999, the goal was to provide prostate cancer patients who met the criteria with an alternative to radical prostatectomy or external beam radiation therapy – two of the more traditional treatment methods at the time. Fast forward 10 years and the program has helped nearly 400 patients.
“We are quite proud of how this program has grown to complement the other prostate cancer services offered at Sutter Roseville,” said Seth Rosenthal, M.D., FACR, radiation oncologist who co-directs the prostate seed program with urologist Abdo Faddoul, M.D.

Typical results for patients treated with prostate seed implantation include:

 Five-year disease-free survival rate: More than 90 percent 

Five-year disease-specific survival rate: More than 95 percent 

Five-year local recurrence rate: Less than 5 percent 

Potency preservation rates at 12 months: 80 percent

Prostate seed implantation is a surgical procedure performed on an outpatient basis under general anesthesia where approximately 100 tiny radioactive “seeds” are implanted through 20 to 30 long, slender needles in the prostate.
At the end of the procedure, the needles are removed, and the seeds remain in the prostate. The implanted seeds release radiation in the prostate, directly adjacent to the cancerous cells.
The patient is usually discharged later that same day with instructions to meet with his urologist in the next few days for a follow-up appointment. Patients are also typically able to return to normal activity within four to 14 days. 
Sutter Roseville Medical Center is commemorating the 10-year milestone with the purchase of new equipment for the prostate seed program.
The new equipment will provide better images for the physicians, improve the accuracy of the treatment plan and should shorten the time the patient is in the operating room.