Contact:Lesley Nevers, (703) 227-0179[email protected]Keri J. Sperry, (703) 227-0156[email protected]
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For Release: October 23, 2000
Prostate Cancer Patients are More Likely to Maintain Erectile Function Following Radiation Therapy Compared to Surgery
From a psychologist's point of view, prostate cancer patients who are offered radiation therapy as a treatment option should seriously consider it. Patients who can obtain and maintain an erection for intercourse before treatment are much more likely to be able to do so again after treatment if they have radiation therapy compared to radical prostatectomy, a new analysis shows.
The analysis, which reviewed 86 articles assessing erectile function prior to and following treatment, found that one year after treatment 68 percent of patients treated with external beam radiation therapy were still able to obtain and maintain an erection compared to only 58 percent of patients treated with nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy, says John Robinson, Ph.D., of the University of Calgary and Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Calgary, Canada. After standard radical prostatectomy only 30 percent of men maintained the ability to have an erection, notes Dr. Robinson. "Radiation therapy is often used on older and sicker patients; if the patients were younger with less advanced disease - like those often treated with surgery - then the percentage of patients who maintain erectile function following radiation treatment would likely be even higher," says Dr. Robinson.
Seventy-six percent of patients treated with brachytherapy alone had erectile function one year after treatment, notes Dr. Robinson. However, this data may be skewed due to the fact that brachytherapy alone is most often used to treat men with smaller tumors; these patients might be doing so well because they have lower stage disease rather than the fact that they were treated with brachytherapy, says Dr. Robinson.
Dr. Robinson says he conducted the analysis so when he counsels patients on prostate cancer treatment, he can provide advice based on solid data. "All other things being equal, I would recommend radiation therapy," says Dr. Robinson.
Dr. Robinson presented the data on October 23 at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology annual meeting in Boston, MA.
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