Researchers succeed in breakthrough in the treatment of prostate cancer

New form of treatment could save the lives of thousands of men

Researchers have now discovered that radiation therapy can increase the likelihood of survival for thousands of men with prostate cancer, even if the cancer has already spread at diagnosis.

Researchers at University College London found in their current research that radiotherapy may increase the likelihood of survival in men with prostate cancer. The physicians published the results of their study in the English-language journal "The Lancet".

Prostate cancer is a disease that costs many men worldwide their lives. A new combined type of treatment could save millions of men's lives. (Image: Henrie / fotolia.com)

Often, prostate cancer has spread further

Prostate cancer affects many men worldwide. In a significant number of these patients, the cancer is not diagnosed until the disease has spread. This significantly reduces the probability of survival of those affected. The standard treatment for advanced or metastatic prostate cancer is hormone therapy with drugs. So far, it has been thought that it makes no sense to treat the prostate itself when the cancer has already spread, the researchers say.

About 2,000 subjects participated in the study

In the current research, experts looked at what happens when patients with prostate cancer receive both radiotherapy and medication. For this they examined about 2,000 men with advanced cancer. Half received standard treatment and the other half were treated with standard treatment plus radiotherapy for the prostate.

Survival likelihood improved to 81 percent

Not every patient has benefited from this combined form of treatment. Radiation therapy did not help with the patients whose cancer had already spread widely, but the treatment made a difference in the people whose cancer had spread only locally to the nearby lymph nodes or bones. Of these men, 81 percent survived for three years, compared with 73 percent of participants who did not receive radiotherapy. The radiotherapy offers here therefore a meaningful inexpensive supplement to the normal treatment. The results were presented at the conference of the European Society of Medical Oncology in Munich.

Further research is needed

The findings of the new study could and should change the standard of care worldwide, say the authors. Unlike many new anticancer drugs, radiotherapy is a simple, relatively cheap treatment that is readily available in most parts of the world, experts said. The results are a monumental finding that could help thousands of men worldwide. The combination of current treatment with radiotherapy shows a clear benefit for a subgroup of men with prostate cancer. Now it must be examined whether this also applies to other cancer patients. If we fully understand why these men benefit from the extra radiotherapy, the approach could be used to help more patients, the researchers concluded. (As)