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Keri Sperry (703) 227-0156 [email protected]
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For Release: November 3, 1999
PROSTATE CANCER PATIENTS HAVE THE SAME OUTCOME WHETHER THEY CHOOSE SURGERY OR RADIATION THERAPY FOR TREATMENT
A new long term study confirms that there is no difference between surgery and radiation therapy when treating patients who have prostate cancer.
The eight-year study followed 627 patients who had surgery and 565 patients who were treated with radiation therapy. The study found that patients with early stage cancer (T1 or T2 disease or a PSA level of 10 or less and/or a Gleason score of six or less) had an 85 percent cure rate regardless of whether they were treated with radiation therapy or surgery, says Patrick Kupelian, M.D. of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in
Cleveland, OH. Patients with more advanced cancers (T3 disease, a PSA level of higher than 10 and a Gleason score of seven or more) had a 60 percent cure rate regardless of treatment.
"This study confirms what we've been saying, that is, that patients have a choice in prostate cancer treatment," says Dr. Kupelian.
"This study compares patients who have the same stage of cancer," Dr. Kupelian notes. Data which indicates a difference in cure rates between surgery and radiation therapy may be based on studies of patients who are dissimilar. "We found that patients who undergo radiation therapy often have more advanced disease, thus affecting the cure rate with this type of treatment. For similar patients, the cure rates between surgery and
radiation therapy are similar," he says.
Dr. Kupelian presented this study on November 3 at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology 41st annual meeting in San Antonio, TX.
The American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) is the largest radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 5,000 members. As a leading organization in radiation oncology, biology and physics, the society's goals are to advance the scientific base of radiation therapy and to extend the benefits of radiation therapy to those with cancer.
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