Author | Michael J. Zelefsky, MD

February 01, 2004

Dr. Beyer provides an insightful and balanced approach tothe indications for salvageprostate brachytherapy after externalbeamradiotherapy failure. As hepoints out, the challenge for the cliniciancontemplating local salvage therapyto address biochemical failure isto determine whether the biochemicalrelapse represents local relapse onlyor systemic disease. Local salvagetreatment in a patient with micrometastaticdisease would have no appreciableimpact on disease-free survivaland is more likely to be associatedwith significant potential morbidity.Unfortunately, with the current lackof reliable molecular markers or sensitiveimaging modalities, it is impossibleto determine with certainty thesource of a biochemical relapse inmost settings.