Prostate cancer: Precision Radiation offers Cure without Surgery!
Radiation therapy offers high cure rates in prostate cancer patients, in both localised and advanced disease. As per literature in the western world, most Prostate Cancer patients are treated with Radiation Therapy without any Surgery and in India too now with increasing awareness, many patients opt for this effective, convenient non-surgical option due to lesser side effects as compared to invasive options. The ‘Evidence Based Medicine Guidelines’ by renowned organisations like NCCN, AUA also recommend radiation therapy treatment due to very high cure rates without any major side effects. The key advantages of treating prostate cancer with radiation therapy are:-
1. Non-Invasive or Minimally Invasive
• External beam radiation therapy (EBRT) offers precise, non-invasive treatment, avoiding surgical risks like cuts, infection or bleeding.
2. High Cure Rates and Effectiveness
• Radiation therapy can effectively kill cancer cells in the prostate.
• For many men with early-stage prostate cancer, radiation offers comparable long-term survival rates to surgery.
• In patients with locally advanced Prostate cancer which has extended beyond the prostate capsule or has involved the nearby seminal vesicle, Radiation Therapy is the recommended Treatment Modality since it offers higher cure rates than surgery and that too with minimal side effects.
• Similarly, if the prostate cancer has spread to pelvic lymph nodes or to a few bones, Radiation Therapy is recommended by most standard guidelines as the curative treatment of choice due to its superiority over traditional treatments like surgery by human or robot.
3. Targeted Treatment
• Modern techniques (e.g. IGRT, VMAT, SBRT) deliver high-dose radiation precisely to the prostate and involved nodes, minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue like the bladder and rectum leading to virtually no side effects now a days!
4. Good Option for all prostate cancer Patients, as radiation is..
• Suitable for men who are not good surgical candidates due to age or other medical conditions.
• Better suited for younger and sexually active men as it preserves both nerves leading to preserved sexual function.
5. Hormone Therapy should Be Combined with radiation as by itself the hormone therapy can-not cure Prostate Cancer, while when used in combination with Radiation it can cure the disease completely.
6. Outpatient Treatment
• Precision Radiation Therapy is an outpatient-based treatment for around 10-12 minutes daily, allowing patients to continue working and leading normal life-routine while receiving treatment and there is no need for hospital admissions!
7. No Hospital Stay or General Anaesthesia needed
• Unlike surgery, radiation usually does not require a hospital stay or general anaesthesia, reducing inconvenience and cost.
8. Preservation of Urinary Function
• Surgery for prostate cancer often leads to post surgery urinary dribbling and the patients have to wear diapers for prolonged periods leading to embarrassment and inconvenience, while this complication is not encountered in patients who are treated with radiation.
9. For Prostate Cancer patients which recur after surgery:-
• Radiation therapy is used to effectively salvage the cases if cancer returns after surgery, although delivering Radiation in post-op cases has higher chances of side effects like diarrhoea.
• Radiation is also useful for palliative purposes in advanced stage 4 prostate cancer cases to relieve pain or symptoms if cancer has already spread to bones at the time of diagnosis.
So, everyone who has been diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, should consult a Radiation Oncologist to make an informed treatment choice, to be able to choose the best and most suitable treatment option offering best chances of cure with least side effects. At our Centre we treat more than a hundred prostate cancer patients every year with precision radiation, with very high cure rates.
