Iodine-125 seeds for cancer treatment

In Brazil, cancer has become one of the major public health problems. An estimate by the Health Ministry showed that 466,430 people had the disease in the country in 2008. The prostate cancer is the second largest death cause among men. The National Institute of Cancer estimated the occurrence of 50,000 new cases for 2009. Some of these patients are treated with Brachytherapy, using Iodine-125 seeds. By this technique, small seeds with Iodine-125, a radioactive material, are implanted in the prostate. The advantages of radioactive seed implants are the preservation of healthy tissues and organs near the prostate, besides the low rate of impotence and urinary incontinence. The Energy and Nuclear Research Institute - IPEN, which belongs to the Nuclear Energy National Commission - CNEN, established a program for the development of the technique and production of Iodine-125 seeds in Brazil. The estimate for the 125-Iodine seeds demand is of 8,000 seeds/month and the laboratory to be implanted will need this production capacity. The purpose of this paper is to explain the project status and show some data about the seeds used in the country. The project will be divided in two phases: technological development of a prototype and a laboratory implementation for the seeds production. (author)