Role of Radiation Treatment for Prostate Cancer
Radiotherapy offers a curative alternative to surgery for patients with organ-confined prostate cancer. For men with locally advanced or high-risk disease radiation can be a curative therapy in conjunction with hormonal therapy. Radiotherapy provides potentially curative salvage treatment for men with early biochemical recurrence following radical prostatectomy. Radiotherapy provides effective symptomatic palliation of locally recurrent and metastatic disease.
Indications
Image guided intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IG-IMRT) is utilized for organ-confined disease.
Low dose rate brachytherapy is useful in patients with clinical T1 or T2a, Gleason < 7 and PSA < 10. Optimal candidates have an organ volume of < 60 cc, no history of transurethral resection of the prostate and minimal urinary symptoms.
IG-IMRT with or without hormonal therapy is used for locally advanced disease.
Adjuvant therapy is used following radical pristatectomy for those with adverse pathological risk factors such as extra capsular extension, positive surgical margins, or seminal vesicle involvement.
For recurrences following radical prostatectomy, treatment is determined by the clinical situation. Curative radiotherapy may be possible for an early relapse.
Emergency or urgent therapy is indicated for treatment of spinal cord compression, treatment of painful bone metastases and nerve-root compression.
Benefits
Radiation therapy offers non-invasive, or minimally invasive curative therapy for men with organ-confined prostate cancer. It has a very favorable toxicity profile, and is also effective as a curative therapy for relapse following radical prostatectomy and in palliating metastatic disease.
Special Programs- Cutting edge image-guided intensity-modulated radiotherapy program
- State-of-the-art low-dose rate brachytherapy program
- Investigational MRI guided high dose rate brachytherapy program
How to Obtain a Consultation
Patients may be referred to one of the radiation oncologists in the Site Group
- through the departmental referral process
- by contacting Elena Gessas
- Tel: (416) 946-2121
- Fax: (416) 946-4442
- by contacting one of the radiation oncologists directly
This page was last updated June 23rd, 2010 at 10:05am.