Evaluation of therapeutic effects of 125I particles brachytherapy for recurrent bladder cancer

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical value of ¹²⁵I particles implantation in the treatment of recurrent bladder cancer. The study is a retrospective analysis of 32 patients with recurrent bladder cancer treated between May 2010 and January 2010. Of these, 16 cases (chemotherapy group) received conventional chemotherapy. A total of 16 patients (¹²⁵I group) received radiotherapy with ¹²⁵I particles, followed by conventional chemotherapy. By guidance of B ultrasound, ¹²⁵I radioactive particles were implanted. All 32 patients were relieved after treatment, and the tumors were significantly reduced after 2 months. However, the tumors in the ¹²⁵I group were significantly smaller than those in the chemotherapy group (P<0.05). The patients were followed-up for 1 year and no recurrence was found. Additionally, no complications occurred. Compared with the chemotherapy group, the tumor volume of the ¹²⁵I group was significantly reduced (P<0.05). The disease-free survival and 5-year survival rates of the patients in the follow-up showed that the disease-free survival and 5-year survival rates of the patients in ¹²⁵I group were significantly improved compared to those in the chemotherapy group. Therefore, the results have shown that ¹²⁵I radioactive particles in the treatment of bladder cancer improve the symptoms of patients with bladder cancer in the short term, and continuously kill residual tumor and prevent recurrence.