American Hospital Dubai performs life-saving procedure on prostate cancer patient

A 63-year-old Australian patient underwent a successful, highly advanced prostate cancer treatment at American Hospital Dubai, one of the few hospitals in the region to offer this cutting-edge procedure.

The patient, diagnosed with intermediate-risk prostate cancer, was recommended to undergo real-time, ultrasound-guided prostate high-dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy, the latest, gold-standard procedure to treat the condition. Under spinal anaesthesia, the patient underwent two half-day treatment sessions of this procedure with a 10-day gap, and his remarkable recovery enabled him to go home the same evening with supportive pain medications. As a busy professional, the treatment efficiency at American Hospital Dubai was of great value to him. It would have taken around four weeks and 20 sessions had he undergone the same treatment through external radiation.

What is real-time, ultrasound-guided HDR brachytherapy? It is the latest form of treatment that combines ultrasound imaging and internal radiation simultaneously to target cancerous cells. Using ultrasound imaging during radiation treatment helps clinicians devise precise radiation demarcation and dosage distribution to limit damage to surrounding healthy tissues. This combined approach seamlessly integrates surgical planning, process, and performance in the same time frame compared to conventional methods, which use ultrasound imaging and treatment delivery in separate stages.

HDR brachytherapy is also cost-effective, has a lower risk of complications and enables faster patient recovery by prioritizing comfort, efficiency, and effectiveness.

Led by Dr Tarek Dufan, Chief of Radiation Oncology at American Hospital Dubai, this high-precision ultrasound-guided procedure utilised a radioactive source called iridium-192, increasingly gaining preference as a monotherapy to treat low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancers. Supporting Dr Dufan were American Hospital Dubai's multidisciplinary team, including radiotherapy technologists, nurses, medical physicists, anaesthesiologists, radiation oncologists, and urologists.

Dr Muhammad Elmussareh, Consultant Urologist at American Hospital Dubai, played a crucial role in reviewing the patient prior to the procedure, using real-time ultrasound-guided imaging on the day of the procedure, reviewing the imaging with the radiation oncology team and assessing the patient's lower urinary tract function to optimise the treatment field.

American Hospital Dubai, a regional leader in state-of-the-art cancer treatments and breakthrough therapies, has successfully implemented cutting-edge treatment programmes such as trans rectal, real-time, and ultrasound-guided prostate brachytherapy to expand its HDR brachytherapy programme.