Prostate cancer could be cured in a week thanks to incredible new treatment

Patients with prostate cancer could be cured in just one week thanks to a new high-dose targeted radiotherapy.

In clinical trials, tumors were eliminated in a few days and treatment times were reduced by one to two months compared to the standard.

The breakthrough could save the NHS millions. This comes after Sir Rod Stewart revealed that he had conquered the disease.

One patient who participated in clinical trials said, "It was a kid's game – it's not something I usually associate with cancer treatment." Developed by a team British, it is the fastest form of treatment to date in clinical trials.

The trial patient – named Alfred, 84, diagnosed in 2013 – added, "I had only to go five times longer than two weeks.

"I did not have many symptoms afterwards and I was able to return to my life."

As part of trials conducted by the Royal Marsden Hospital in West London, patients received extremely high doses of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), diffusing with sub-millimeter precision at the level of tumors, thereby reducing the risk of damaging healthy surrounding tissues, which may result in adverse effects.

Their tumors have been eliminated within one to two weeks, compared with a maximum of two months for standard radiotherapy.

The study divided 850 patients into three groups who received different doses of radiotherapy. Three months after treatment, adverse events observed in patients treated with SBRT were no more severe than for standard treatment.

They will be monitored for several years to determine if they are really cured.

If current trials show that humans can tolerate such high doses of radiation, SBRT could be offered on the NHS.

Dr. Douglas Brand, co-author of the Cancer Institute, said, "This could change the practice." Dr. Nicholas van As, of the Royal Marsden, said, "Patients could be spared many visits to the clinic. Hospital, allowing them to resume living sooner. "

Prostate cancer affects about one in eight men. About 50,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, and 11,600 men die each year.

Sir Rod urged men to be controlled after revealing his three-year fight.

The study will be unveiled at a meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology in Chicago today.