Prostate Cancer: Radiation Therapy Could Make Thousands of Lives, Study Says | Society

A new study suggests that radiation therapy could increase the chances of survival for thousands of men with prostate cancer that has already spread at the time of their diagnosis.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK. About 47,000 people are diagnosed each year and about 11,500 die. A significant number of men are not diagnosed until the spread of cancer, which reduces their chances of survival.

The standard treatment for advanced or metastatic prostate cancer is hormone therapy. "Until now, it was thought that it was useless to treat the prostate itself if the cancer had already spread, as it would be like shutting the stable door after the horse blockage, "said Dr. Chris Parker, principal investigator of the study. from the Royal Marsden Hospital in Surrey.

The study, dubbed Stampede and based at the Medical Research Council's clinical trial unit at University College London, examined what would happen to about 2,000 men with advanced cancer. they received radiation therapy as well as medication. Half received standard treatment and half of the standard treatment plus prostate radiotherapy.

Not everyone has benefited. Radiation therapy did not help those whose cancer had spread more widely, but it made a difference for those whose cancer only spread locally to nearby lymph nodes or bones. . Of these men, 81% survived for three years, compared to 73% who did not receive radiation therapy. The results were announced at the conference of the European Society of Medical Oncology in Munich and published online by the Lancet medical journal.

The improvement in survival may seem minimal, but experts estimate that it could benefit about 3,000 men in England and many more around the world. Radiation therapy also has the advantage of being an economical supplement to their treatment.

"Our results show a powerful effect in some men with advanced prostate cancer. These results could and should change the standards of care around the world, "said Parker. "Unlike many new cancer drugs, radiation therapy is a simple, relatively inexpensive and easily available treatment in most parts of the world."

Professor Charles Swanton, the principal clinician at Cancer Research UK, who funded the trial, said: "This is a monumental discovery that could help thousands of men in the world. The Stampede is making great strides in finding new ways to treat prostate cancer, as previous test results have already changed clinical practice. Previously published data have made docetaxel chemotherapy a standard part of many men with prostate cancer.

"The addition of radiation therapy to current treatment shows a clear benefit for this subgroup of men with prostate cancer. We must now determine if this could also work for other types of cancer. If we can understand exactly why these men benefit from the additional treatment in radiotherapy, we could hope to use this approach to benefit even more patients. "