title: Disease-related effects of perioperative blood transfusions associated with 125I seed implantation for prostate carcinoma.
abstract: In some retrospective studies perioperative transfusions during oncologic surgery have been shown to decrease the time interval between surgery and local and/or distant recurrence of cancer. This study examines the disease-related effect, if any, of perioperative blood transfusions among 108 patients with localized carcinoma of the prostate treated by radioactive iodine-125 seed implantation of the prostate and lymphadenectomy. When all subjects were analyzed, there was no statistical difference of local and distant failure between the transfused and nontransfused groups. Patients with well-differentiated tumors had statistically fewer local recurrences (0% vs 22%, p = 0.036) if they were transfused perioperatively. However, the difference in distant metastases (0% vs 11%) was not statistically significant (p = 0.21). In contrast, patients with moderately and poorly differentiated disease receiving transfusions had more local recurrences and metastases, though this was not statistically significant. Our data suggest that there is no obvious evidence that perioperative blood transfusions have an adverse effect on local recurrence or distant metastases for iodine-125 seed implantation of carcinoma of the prostate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology and Biophysics, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Petersen
authors.forename: P F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Schellhammer
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: el-Mahdi
mesh_terms: D001918:Brachytherapy; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D017707:Erythrocyte Transfusion; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008297:Male; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000453:epidemiology; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D065227:Transfusion Reaction
chemical_list: D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes