Poster Abstracts Archive

UK & Ireland Prostate Brachytherapy Conference 2011

Abstract number 8

Sexually Transmitted Seeds?

Sarah Aldridge, Brachytherapy Physicist, Department of Medical Physics, Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
David Gallacher, Radiation Protection Advisor, Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
Janette Kinsella, Prostate Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist, Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
Ronald Beaney, Clinical Oncologist, Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

Introduction: Our centre offers prostate brachytherapy as a day case procedure. All patients treated receive radiation protection advice prior to their implant and also take home a card summarising this advice after the implant.
Recently a patient contacted our prostate cancer nurse specialist three weeks after implant informing her a lady he had been intimate with had reported symptoms of vaginal bleeding and a sore throat. He had not used a condom as advised during sexual activities and could this be a result of an implanted seed being transferred?

Method: The patient and lady in question were asked to attend clinic the following day. Physics carried out a mini experiment to ascertain if a single seed could be detected within a person. This was done with a remaining seed from the batch used for the patients implant, several sheets of tissue equivalent material and a handheld scintillation radiation monitor, to determine the expected count rate at the surface of the body.

Results: The lady attended clinic and after the team discussed the situation with her our brachytherapy physicist carried out a sweep of her body with the selected radiation monitor. No seed was detected with a high degree of certainty. Due to the small risk of ingestion of radioactive iodine from a compromised seed due to swallowing, a urine sample was also taken and measured in our gamma counter. No radiation was detected above background levels within the sample.

Conclusion: The lady was referred to her GP for follow-up. The oncologist informed her GP by letter detailing the incident. This incident raised the issue of signed consent and we have since amended our signed patient consent form to specifically detail radiation advice given and understood. We have also updated our patient information leaflet to explain the responsibilities patients have for others after implant.