Radiotherapy hope for prostate cancer

There's new hope for what has previously been considered incurable prostate cancer in the form of targeted radiotherapy.

A targeted form of radiotherapy can cure prostate cancer in men whose disease was previously thought to be incurable, research suggests.

A pioneering study has found that using a specialised type of radiotherapy that is highly targeted can stop the disease in its tracks.

Researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London and the UK's leading cancer hospital, the Royal Marsden, found that intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) helped eradicate the disease when used on cancer cells that had spread from the original tumour to pelvic lymph nodes.

IMRT enables doctors to give a high dose of radiation directly to cancer cells while protecting the surrounding healthy tissue, thereby cutting down on side-effects.

In the new study on 447 men, 71 per cent of patients with prostate cancer were alive and also completely free from disease five years after treatment with IMRT.

When the trial began, many of the patients were considered incurable.

Experts have always thought that giving radiotherapy to the lymph nodes near a prostate tumour is too risky due to the damage that can be done to the bowel from the therapy.

But the new study showed that when using IMRT rather than conventional radiotherapy, only 8 per cent to 16 per cent suffered issues with their bladder or bowel.

The trial found that IMRT could safely be given to the pelvis - a common site for prostate cancer cells to spread - to help stop the disease going further.

Professor Paul Workman, chief executive of the ICR, said: "Radiotherapy is often seen as perhaps old-fashioned and crude compared with other cancer treatments - but nothing could be further from the truth.


Share
2 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world