High-Dose Radiation Effective for Prostate Cancer

A 10-year study has shown that men treated with high-dose levels of three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) had long-term, relapse-free survival with minimal side effects. The results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) in Salt Lake City (UT, USA).

Researchers analyzed data on 828 patients who were categorized into risk groups based on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, Gleason score, and clinical stage. At 10 years, relapse-free survival for favorable, intermediate, and unfavorable risk patients were 70%, 49%, and 35%, respectively. Higher radiation dose levels (64.8-75.6 Gy) were associated with an improved outcome at 10 years for each group. Despite the fact that higher radiation doses were used, patients reported minimal side effects. The long-term risk of serious rectal or bladder injuries at 10 years was under 3% and 2%, respectively.

"We continue to observe that even higher doses have further improved cure rates for patients with localized prostate cancer,” noted senior author Steven Leibel, M.D., chairman of the department of radiation oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (New York, NY, USA; www.mskcc.org). "These mature data show that even 10 years from the therapy, despite the application of high radiation doses, the tolerance was excellent.”




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