Early Results Favorable For 5-day Radiation Treatment Of Early Stage Prostate Cancer

Fairfax, Va., March 16, 2009 – 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-stageprostate cancer and has
the same side effects as other treatments, according to a March 15 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.

source: ASTRO