Shorter radiation course as effective as standard therapy for prostate cancer recurrence

A shorter, five-week course of radiation treatment that delivers higher doses of radiation in fewer sessions, known as hypofractionation, appears to be just as effective and as safe in reducing the risk of prostate cancer from returning as standard radiation therapy, yet is delivered in two-and-a-half weeks less time, according to interim results of a randomized study presented November 4, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

"The study shows that hypofractionated radiation could potentially be used in place of standard radiation therapy for intermediate and high risk prostate cancer patients, but the results are still preliminary," Alan Pollack, M.D., lead author of the study and a radiation oncologist at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Miami, Fla., said. "We are excited about this research because the shorter course of treatment is more convenient, would reduce health care costs and appears just as effective."

Patients in the study received a special type of external beam radiation called intensity modulated radiation therapy, or IMRT, that allows radiation to be more exactly shaped to fit the prostate. Using IMRT, the amount of radiation received by healthy tissues near the tumor are reduced. This has allowed the investigators to give higher doses per day without increasing toxicity significantly.

The study involved 303 men with intermediate and high risk prostate cancer who were randomized to receive hypofractionated IMRT for 26 treatments (five weeks of daily radiation therapy) or standard IMRT for 38 treatments (seven-and-a-half weeks of daily treatments) to the prostate and surrounding area. High-risk patients also received treatment to the pelvic lymph nodes.