Fundació IMOR is a leading centre in radiation therapy treatment. Outpatient Radiation therapy and Brachytherapy (inpatient radiation therapy) applying the following techniques:

• Brachytherapy H.D.R. (High Dosage Rate) for breast and prostate pathologies, finecológic tumours, skin treatment, etc.
• Opthalmic Brachytherapy.
• Endovascular Brachytherapy.
• Prostate Brachytherapy by means of seed implants.

Fundació IMOR, specialists in oncological radiation therapy and Institut Serrate, specialistes in Urology, have created the Prostate Brachytherapy Unit. High dosage rate prostate brachytherapy, a new alternative treatment for cancer for the year 2000.

The Prostate Brachytherapy Unit of the Fundació IMOR, Institut Mèdic d'OncoRadioteràpia, was born of an initative by a team of doctors who are specialists in Radiation Therapy Oncology and Urology. Dedicated to the treatment of prostate cancer, the Unit's radiation therapists are leaders in the treatment of the initial stages of prostate cancer by means of two Brachytherapy techniques:permanent seed implants and high dosage rate implants.

The Prostate Brachytherapey Unit of Fundació IMOR, is able to select the best treatment technique which is suited to each case, as it has all the most modern techniques there are today at its disposal.

The permanent implants are carried out in an hour, as outpatients. Tiny radioactive sources are placed with precision inside the prostate gland, using various needles and ecographic control. The low energy radioactivity emitted by the seeds only reaches a very short distance inside the prostate. This allows very high dosages to be administered to the prostate while the level of radiation which reaches the neighbouring normal tissue and the bladder and rectum.

The seeds continuously emit their radiation for weeks or months. The seeds are used providing the tumor is confined to the prostate even though it only occupies one or both lobes. The prostatic brachytherapy is extremely well tolerated. Just a few hours after carrying out the implant the patient can be discharged. The next day, if they so wish, they can already work normally.

The High Dosage Rate Brachytherapy is a procedure by which the radioactive sources are temporarily placed inside the prostate.The radiation is focused directly on the cancerous zone, protecting the neighbouring healthy tissue.. The radioactive sources are introduced into the prostate by means of plastic needles which have been placed under precise echographic control. By means of a complex computer program, the physicists calculate the time each radioactive source must remain in place in order to give the tumor the dosage the doctor considers necessary.

The use of complex algorithms for calculating enable the optimization of the dosage distribution in such a way that the volume to be treated receives high radiation dosages while the quantity irradiated on healthy tissue is minimized. The treatment lasts just a few minutes, after which the tubes are withdrawn. The high dosage rate brachytherapy is a highly precise treatment. That is why it is the ideal treatment for complex cases, which have had previous surgery or because of their characteristics are not suitable for treatment by permanent implants.

The Brachytherapy derives its etymology from "near-therapy". It consists of implanting low energy isotopes: iodine-125 inside the prostate gland, by means of needles which are guided through the periné, using a sophisticated transrectal ecographic system. The radiation dosage is confined to the prostate and does not affect the neighbouring organs, nor is there a significant radiation risk to people. The most important advantatges of Brachytherapy are:

• It avoids the delicate nature of an operation like the radical prostatectomy.
• It is an outpatient procedure; it requires just a few hours hospitalization.
• It allows a rapid recovery and a quick return to normal activity.
• Its allows precise placement of the Iodine seedsin a uniform way throughout the prostate, including the apex.
• The risk of bleeding during the implanting is minimal.
• The procedure is carried out just once.
• It is very well-tolerated by older patients with general poor health, as it avoids a long stay in bed.
• It allows sexual drive to be maintained in more than 90% of cases.
• It avoids urinary incontinence.
• The efficiency of the treatment is backed up by ten years follow-up in the USA (Blasco, Radge, Stone...).