A 13-year study of prostate cancer patients who underwent radical prostatectomy found that those who receive radiation therapy within six months of surgery live longer than those who are left untreated.
The study of 415 patients was conducted at the San Raffaele H. Scientific Institute in Milan, Italy, and reported in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics (July 1, 2004, Vol. 59:3, pp. 674-83).
Following surgery to remove the prostate and surrounding lymph nodes, the patients were divided into two groups, including those treated with external-beam radiation therapy (ERT) and those who were simply watched over time (SNRT). None showed signs of metastatic disease after surgery.
Within eight years (median follow-up 62 months) PSA tests showed that 69% of the patients who received radiation therapy showed no signs of recurrent disease, compared to 31% of patients who did not undergo radiation therapy, or received treatment only after the disease recurred. Moreover, recurrent disease remained localized in the prostate for 93% of patients in the radiation therapy group compared with 63% in the non-treated group. The risk of death from prostate cancer was also significantly lower in the radiation therapy group.
The eight-year actuarial freedom from biochemical, local, and systemic failure, and cause-specific survival rate was 69% versus 31% (p <0.0001, log-rank), 93% versus 63% (p<0.0001), 88% versus 75% (p = 0.04), and 93% versus 80% (p = 0.02) in the ERT and SNRT group, respectively, Dr. Cesare Cozzarini and colleagues wrote in their abstract.
The median follow-up was 62 months. The improvement in eight-year cause-specific survival was associated with ERT in patients with positive resection margins (91% versus 67%, p = 0.007), extracapsular extension (92% versus 75%, p = 0.002), Gleason score >/=7 (88% versus 72%, p = 0.02), and lymph node metastases (88% versus 68%, p = 0.04), the group found.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writersJune 22, 2004
Related Reading
Older age predicts shorter survival with high-risk prostate cancer, January 28, 2003
Salvage radiotherapy shows promise for PSA recurrence after prostatectomy, January 6, 2003
After prostate radiation therapy, low PSA means long survival, September 24, 2002
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