Why Is Stereotactic Radiosurgery Better For Prostate Cancer?
Prostate cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer to specifically affect men. According to the latest data, it accounts for just over 12 per cent of cancer cases in the European Economic Area and particularly affects men over the age of 45.
In addition, some ethnic groups are particularly prone to the disease, with black men at the highest risk. However, no racial group can be classed as ‘low risk’. The disease is curable, provided it is diagnosed at an early stage.
The fact that prostate cancer is so common does mean it has attracted a lot of attention, time and money for research into the disease and its treatments. This means that if you are a sufferer, you may have more treatment options open to you than you might be aware of.
If you are not happy with your current or proposed treatment, you may be keen on alternatives, not least if that means choosing radiotherapy over physical surgery. While surgery seeks to remove tumours and cancerous tissue, radiotherapy uses radiation to disrupt the DNA of cancer cells, destroying them and preventing cell replication.
What Is Involved In Prostate Cancer Surgery?
Going under the knife to have a tumour or even the whole prostate removed is a recognised and well-established treatment and it can be very effective. However, it has several potential downsides:
- Urinary dysfunction, including incontinence
- Negative changes to the experience of orgasm in sex
- Loss of fertility
- Erectile dysfunction
- Lymphedema, a painful swelling in the legs or around the genitals
Such consequences mean that whatever the surgery achieves for the overall patient prognosis, there can be a significant deterioration in quality of life.
This alone might make radiotherapy sound like an alternative worth considering. But this will only be useful if it can be shown to be at least as effective in achieving its primary purpose of tackling the cancer itself.
What Are The Side Effects Of Radiotherapy For Prostate Cancer?
Moreover, radiotherapy for prostate cancer is also not without its possible side effects and long-term issues. These include:
- Fatigue (short-term)
- Issues with urinary, bowel and ejaculatory function (both short and long-term)
- Infertility (long-term)
- Erectile dysfunction (long-term)
There is more than one kind of radiotherapy, however, which means there are multiple options for using it to treat prostate cancer. Finding the best option for each patient is important for achieving the best possible outcomes.
What Research Supports Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy For Prostate Cancer?
An increasing body of research evidence is available to show that stereotactic body radiotherapy may be an effective and increasingly preferred option to deliver radiotherapy treatment to prostate cancer sufferers.
The latest study to show this comes from a Phase III trial held by University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust in the UK.
It carried out a study that compared the outcomes from a cohort of men who had five days of daily high-dosage stereotactic treatment to those of another group who underwent more standard radiotherapy treatment consisting of 20 sessions over four weeks.
The key finding of the trial was that the stereotactic radiotherapy produced results that were just as positive on average as those delivered by the longer courses of radiotherapy.
Consultant clinical oncologist at the trust, Andrew Chan, called the findings “a pivotal, practice-changing result”, as it meant that “for this highly prevalent cancer we are able to reduce radiotherapy treatment to only a quarter of the current standard – from 20 days to five days – with the same clinical benefits.”
This approach can have some great advantages for patients. Firstly, it is more practical as you only need to spare a few days to get it done, rather than a month.
Considering that the side-effects of radiotherapy can make you feel tired and unwell, this means you spend less time suffering and get the side-effects out of the way sooner.
What Are The Main Benefits Of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy?
For selected patients with localised prostate cancer, stereotactic body radiotherapy is also likely to produce fewer side effects precisely because it is designed to focus the radiation on very precise areas, which means it not only blasts the cancerous tissue with higher doses of radiation, but greatly reduces the radiation exposure for adjacent, healthy tissue.
The term stereotactic radiosurgery was coined in the 1960s by Lars Leksell, the Swedish neuroscientist who invented the Gamma Knife, a device commonly used in tackling brain tumours.
The brain is a prime example of an organ in which exposure of healthy tissue to radiation needs to be minimised, but this benefit can also apply to other parts of the body.
Stereotactic body radiotherapy is one option that may be considered for eligible patients with prostate cancer, following assessment by a specialist clinical team
Learn more about our advanced radiotherapy treatments for prostate cancer on the Amethyst Group website.
