A hypofractionated course of radiation therapy is as effective as conventional radiation therapy in reducing intermediate- to high-risk prostate cancer recurrence, according to five-year outcome results of a clinical trial to be presented at next week's American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting.
In a press conference preceding the Miami Beach, FL, meeting, Dr. Alan Pollack, chairman of radiation oncology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, reported that hypofractionated radiotherapy reduces treatment duration by about two and a half weeks. Recurrence rates were comparable to those of patients who received conventional radiation therapy.
The patient population included 303 men with intermediate- to high-risk prostate cancer who were randomized to receive either hypofractionated intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) or conventional IMRT between 2005 and 2006. The high-risk patients also received hormone therapy for 24 months.
Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels of all patients were monitored for more than five years. While the researchers hypothesized that hypofractionation treatment would be superior, the same tumor control rates were observed, and the conventionally fractionated patients had better outcomes than expected.
Side effects were relatively low for both methods, Pollack said. There were identical long-term rates of bowel/rectal reactions and frequent unsatisfactory erections. Conventionally fractionated patients, however, did have significantly greater bladder control.
