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Early
results favorable for five-day Radiation
Treatment of Early-Stage Prostate Cancer
Newswise — Preliminary results show that a
shortened course of radiation therapy for
prostate cancer called stereotactic body
radiation therapy (SBRT) provides good PSA
response for early-stage prostate cancer and
has the same side effects as other
treatments, according to a study in the
International Journal of Radiation
Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official
journal of the American Society for
Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). Study authors
caution that further follow-up will be
necessary to establish that SBRT is as
effective in the long term as other proven
treatments.
Radiation therapy is an effective way to
treat localized prostate cancer. Proven
successful treatments include brachytherapy
(seed implants) where radiation sources are
placed directly into the prostate and
external beam radiation therapy where
doctors give small daily doses of radiation
to the prostate, five days a week, for eight
weeks to give enough radiation to kill the
cancer cells while sparing nearby healthy
tissue.
External beam radiation therapy can be a
very effective and minimally invasive
treatment.
However, the length of treatment can be
burdensome for some patients, particularly
those who live very far from a treatment
facility.
Doctors have been investigating ways to
shorten the course of the treatment through
a technique called stereotactic body
radiation therapy, where radiation
oncologists give a higher dose of radiation
every day for five days.
Growing biologic evidence also suggests that
delivering radiotherapy in this fashion
might be more effective for prostate cancer
than conventionally protracted courses.
In this study, researchers from Stanford
University treated 41 men with low-risk
prostate cancer with SBRT. After a median
follow-up of 33 months, no man in the study
has seen his cancer return.
Men in the study reported side effects,
including urinary and rectal problems that
were no better or worse than with other
prostate cancer radiation treatments.
“There is great enthusiasm in reducing the
length of treatment for prostate cancer
while also possibly improving its
effectiveness, and these early results are
very promising for men with early-stage
prostate cancer,” Christopher King, Ph.D.,
M.D., an associate professor of radiation
oncology at Stanford University School of
Medicine in Stanford, Calif., said.
“However,
it can often take as long as 10 years to see
late side effects and recurrences, so we
will have to monitor these men closely and
cautiously pursue these treatments further
before we can confidently say that SBRT is
as good as other proven prostate cancer
treatments, like external beam radiation
therapy, brachytherapy or surgery.”
ASTRO is the largest radiation oncology
society in the world, with more than 10,000
members who specialize in treating patients
with radiation therapies.
As the leading organization in radiation
oncology, biology and physics, the Society
is dedicated to improving patient care
through education, clinical practice,
advancement of science and advocacy. For
more information on radiation therapy, visit
www.rtanswers.org. To learn more
about ASTRO, visit
www.astro.org.
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