TREATING PROSTATE CANCER Tiny seeds with a big job

The concrete-block walls are more than 6 feet thick. Geiger counters go clickety-click as scientists and technicians in rubber gloves and paper gowns stare through microscopes and thick protective glass at what looks like tiny bits of pencil lead, packing them in long needles or round containers. There are no windows. The place has the feel of a fallout shelter and the banter of a nuclear lab.

Assembly Lab team leader Vlasta Diaz and Edith Derreberry, lab technician, prepare seeds for shipment. But it's a Theragenics Corp. factory in the far-out Atlanta suburbs north of Lake Lanier, and it manufactures radioactive "seeds" used to kill deadly cells of prostate cancer, the second-leading cause of male cancer death in the United States.

It evokes memories of the 1950s, when nuclear fallout was on every politician's lips and children ducked under desks to hide from its invisible rays. Even the lab's lingo sounds eerie, with talk of cyclotrons, titanium and particle accelerators.

Implantation of the tiny seeds is one of the methods of treating the disease, though other techniques, including removal of the gland and external radiation therapy, also have strong proponents. Decisions often are based on when the cancer is found.

PHOTOS BY HYOSUB SHIN / COX NEWS SERVICE Lab technician Kathy Ivie performs quality inspection at the Theragenics Corp. lab. Theragenics is a company located in Buford, Ga., that makes radioactive seeds for prostate cancer. Theragenics' seeding method, called brachytherapy, is gaining in popularity because baby boomers are getting older. It has fewer of the side effects that aging men dread, such as impotence and incontinence, which are common in men whose prostate glands are surgically removed.

That's one reason the market for the radioactive seeds is growing.

The American Cancer Society says more than 219,000 men are diagnosed annually with prostate cancer in the United States, and 27,000 die. Most are diagnosed in their 60s and later, and doctors say many could be saved if treated early enough.

While the effectiveness of the treatment methods is debatable, and there is no consensus as to which is best, many men whose cancer has not spread outside the gland choose brachytherapy, hoping for a continued sex life.

PHOTO COURTESTY OF THERAGENICS CORP. So far, TheraSeed, the brand name for Theragenics' products, has been implanted into 130,000 men, including U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and Republican presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani.

Once 80 to 120 seeds are implanted into a man's prostate, a gland the size of a walnut just below the urinary bladder, they have a "half life" of 17 days, during which time they're supposed to kill cancerous cells. The potency of the seeds goes away within a few weeks. Men with the seeds aren't supposed to get near pregnant women or hold children or pets on their laps for at least a month.

Don Pardue, 61, of Atlanta was treated with radioactive seeds for his prostate cancer a few years ago. He says he's doing OK.

"The Department of Veterans Affairs has recognized an Agent Orange-prostate cancer link. I was exposed in Vietnam," Pardue said. "Things in my life aren't perfect, but at least I don't glow in the dark."

For others, such as Chuck Warren, 54, of Atlanta, who was diagnosed earlier than most, seeds weren't a good option because the cancer had spread.

"There are side effects to everything, but one is death, and I wanted to get that off the table, so I chose surgery," Warren said. "I get calls from prostate victims all the time. I say, 'Let's cut to the chase. There are three side effects - death, incontinency and impotence.' And I say,

'Pick two you want to deal with.' " About 85 people work at the 160,000-square-foot lab and factory. The plant is "completely safe" for workers and nearby residents, CEO Christine Jacobs says.

At least three other publicly owned companies manufacture radioactive seeds, and several private companies do, says Bruce Smith, Theragenics' executive vice president of strategy and business development.

Brachytherapy is cheaper than other treatments, costing up to 12,000, compared with $20,000 for surgery and $30,000 to $40,000 for external radiation beam therapy, Jacobs says.

The business is exploding because, with boomers aging, more men are being diagnosed with prostate cancer, and competition for the seeds is strong because few men whose cancer hasn't spread outside the gland choose surgery.

But the competition has made radioactive seeds a tougher business, which is why the 26-year-old Theragenics firm, shares of which trade on the New York Stock Exchange, decided to diversify big-time, Smith says. It purchased Portland, Ore.- based CP Medical and Garland, Texas-based Galt Medical in the past few years.

All total, it has about 345 employees. CP Medical manufactures sutures, cardiac devices and brachytherapy needles. Galt also makes medical devices, such as specialty catheters.

This fits into Theragenics' long-range strategy of diversification, Smith says.

"There's a huge competition for good medical companies out there who are in their early stage and need our experience," he said. "We will continue to look for medical device companies to grow. The seeds still are an important component, but the brachytherapy business is in more of a steady state than rapid growth."

Brian Hamilton, an analyst for the Raleigh, N.C.-based Sageworks financial firm, says the acquisition strategy should raise Theragenics' stock price, which recently closed at $4.02 after a 52-week range of $2.93 to $6.95.

"You've got a lot of attention on this because of the aging boomer generation," he said. "I like companies with increasing revenues and profits, and that's what's happening here. They are trying for increased operating profits. And they have proved that their acquisition strategy is working."

Jacobs, the 57-year-old Theragenics chief, says one secret to the firm's success is that its radioactive seeds lose power in less than a month.

"So we don't have any inventory," she said. "We make the product and ship immediately. It's like stocking milk."