Brachytherapy, External Beam Radiation Therapy, and Androgen Suppression Improve Survival of Men with High-risk Prostate Cancer

Researchers from the Dana Farber Cancer Center have reported that men with high-risk prostate cancer receiving brachytherapy have improved survival with added external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and androgen suppression therapy (AST). The details of this study appeared in the August 20, 2009 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.[1]

Patients with locally advanced high-risk prostate cancer are often treated with hormone therapy alone or with radiation plus hormonal therapy. Most recent studies have shown that patients with locally advanced prostate cancer have better outcomes when receiving combination therapy. Researchers from Sweden have recently reported that combined EBRT and hormonal therapy reduces deaths by 50% compared with hormonal therapy alone for treatment of locally advanced or high-risk prostate cancer. Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute have reported that the addition of six months of AST to EBRT improves the outcomes of men with localized prostate cancer with unfavorable features who had no or minimal comorbidity.

An alternative approach is to administer brachytherapy and EBRT. Researchers from the Seattle Prostate Cancer Institute have reported that the combination of brachytherapy plus EBRT provides low rates of cancer recurrences at 15 years following treatment for early (T1-3) prostate cancer.

source: Cancer Consultants