To evaluate the severity and interval to resolution of the acute lower urinary tract symptoms in men undergoing prostate brachytherapy (PB) with cesium-131 (¹³¹Cs).

A longitudinal, prospective study of patients who had undergone PB with ¹³¹Cs at our institution and had a minimum of 6 months of follow-up was performed. Urinary symptoms were assessed using the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite. Patients were asked to complete a survey preoperatively and at 2 weeks and 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively.

The first 152 patients who underwent PB with ¹³¹Cs at our institution were included in the present study. The mean Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite urinary summary score decreased significantly from baseline (86.4) at 2 weeks (59.2) and 1 month (62.2) after PB. These scores returned to the clinical baseline by 3 months (79.6) and to the statistical baseline by 6 months (84.0) after PB. The urinary subscales (function, bother, incontinence, irritative/obstructive) followed the same course in returning to the clinical and statistical baseline values. Similar patterns were seen when patients were stratified by PB as monotherapy. For patients undergoing combination therapy, the mean Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite scores returned to the clinical and statistical baseline values by 3 months after their procedure.

In patients undergoing PB with ¹³¹Cs, the postprocedure lower urinary tract symptoms generally returned to the clinical baseline by 3 months and the statistical baseline value by 6 months after PB.