George P. Hemstreet Iii, MD, PhD

Over the past decade, prostatebrachytherapy has been usedincreasingly as definitivetreatment for early-stage carcinomaof the prostate gland, with the majorityof the literature on brachytherapyreporting biochemical results as favorableas those in the most positiveradical prostatectomy and externalbeamradiation therapy series.[1-4]Because of a lack of definitive evidencesupporting the efficacy of onelocal treatment approach over another,quality-of-life (QOL) parametershave assumed greater importance. Ithas been widely asserted that preservationof potency is more likely followingbrachytherapy, but longerfollow-up has raised substantialdoubts about brachytherapy’s potency-sparing advantage.[5,6] In addition,brachytherapy results in amyriad of previously unrecognizedeffects on sexual function.[7,8]