Radiation Therapy Reduces Prostate Cancer Recurrence

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Receiving high-dose external radiation rather than conventional-dose radiation treatment could reduce the risk of recurring prostate cancer in men, according to a new study.

Doctors typically diagnose prostate cancer while it is still clinically localized and treat it with conventional-dose external beam radiation. However, this form of treatment often fails and leads to increased levels of prostate-specific antigens (PSAS), secondary treatment, and clinical recurrence.

In order to determine the effect of higher radiation dosages, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston studied 393 prostate cancer patients. They received either a conventional or high dose of radiation therapy delivered through the combination of conformal photon or proton beams.

After treatment, data showed a 49-percent reduction in the increase of PSA levels when high-dose therapy was used. Higher dosages of radiation also resulted in significant reduction in prostate cancer recurrence in both low-risk and high-risk groups: 51 percent and 44 percent, respectively. No significant differences in survival rates were recorded between the two groups.

"This randomized trial shows that when men with clinically localized prostate cancer are treated with high-dose rather than conventional-dose external radiation therapy, they are more likely to be free from an increasing PSA level five years later and less likely to have locally persistent disease," study authors conclude.

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SOURCE: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2005;294:1274-1276