Radiation Therapy Benefits Younger Men With Localized Prostate Cancer

A news study appearing in the June 15, 2006 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, says that external beam radiation could be a treatment option for men aged less than 55 years diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Age has remained a controversial factor, which dictates the treatment of prostate cancer. In younger individuals, doctors recommend more aggressive therapy as compared to older individuals. This is true even for relatively non-metastatic disease.

Andre Konski, M.D., M.B.A., M.A, Clinical Research Director, Radiation Oncology Department at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, and colleagues reviewed the five-year survival rates of prostate cancer patients aged under 55 and found that "external beam radiation at appropriate dose levels has been shown to be equivalent to permanent prostate seed implant and radical prostatectomy in the treatment of patients with stage T1-2 prostate cancer."

The authors added that conservative approach and not radical one could be the answer in younger men.

Contact: Amy Molnar

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John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Source: Eurekalert