According to a clinical trial abstract presented at the 2011 ASTRO Annual Meeting, external beam radiotherapy substantially reduced both distant and clinical progression of disease in patients diagnosed with early localized prostate cancer, when compared against 'watchful waiting.'
All the way back in 1986, researchers began a randomized trial that looked at progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) among 214 men who had been diagnosed with early, localized prostate cancer. The men were assigned to either receive external beam radiotherapy, or watchful waiting.
Over the next seven years, men who experienced objective progression were also given hormonal treatment. And in some cases, men in the watchful waiting arm received external beam radiotherapy as necessary.
After15 years, distant progression in the radiotherapy arm occurred in 17 percent of the patients, while distant disease progression occurred in 31percent of the patients in the watchful waiting arm. Also, treatment changes, on account of clinical disease progression, was almost twice as likely in the watchful waiting arm of the trial.
Ultimately, researchers concluded that the 15 year recurrence-free survival rate in the watchful waiting arm was 40 percent, while in the radiotherapy arm, the 15 year recurrence-free survival rate was 67 percent.
Further Reading
The American Society For Radiation Oncology
HemOncToday coverage of the abstract
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