Radiation Therapy’s Expanding Role In Prostate Cancer Care
- Metastatic prostate cancer, or cancer that has spread beyond the prostate, typically requires systemic therapy (which treats the whole body). However, radiation can play a critical role in helping to relieve symptoms and prevent further complications.
- Radiation techniques used for advanced prostate cancer include external beam radiation (EBRT), radioligand therapy, and stereotactic body radiation (SBRT), which is used to treat a small number of metastases in patients with oligometastatic disease (which means the disease has only spread to a few areas).
- Some misconceptions exist regarding radiation treatment for advanced prostate cancer, but “radiation to the prostate can lead to improvements in quality of life” and “can prolong the duration of treatments,” Dr. Daniel Hamstra, chair of radiation oncology at Baylor College of Medicine, tells SurvivorNet.
- Patients with oligometastatic prostate cancer may benefit from aggressive local or targeted radiation to individual disease sites.
“When I started this [about two decades ago], there was an understanding that once the cancer had spread, there was no longer a benefit to something like radiation therapy,” Dr. Daniel Hamstra, chair of radiation oncology at Baylor College of Medicine, tells SurvivorNet. “We’ve now learned from a number of good clinical trials that that’s not actually the case.”
Read MoreFear vs. Fact: What To Know About Radiation
One of the most persistent misconceptions is that radiation is inherently dangerous or extreme. In truth, modern radiation therapy is far more precise and patient-friendly than most imagine.“Radiation for prostate cancers is a very simple outpatient treatment that has minimal to no side effects and often can result in significant improvements,” Dr. Hamstra explains.
Another myth that continues to linger is the belief that radiation has no role once prostate cancer becomes metastatic. That thinking, Dr. Hamstra says, is outdated and contradicted by recent research.
Clinical trials have shown that even after the cancer spreads, radiation to the prostate can improve quality of life and extend the effectiveness of systemic therapies.
“If a man has prostate cancer and it has spread, radiation to the prostate can lead to improvements in their quality of life,” Dr. Hamstra says. “It can prolong the duration that their treatments … and in some men may even help them live longer.”
Precision Targeting: Treating Individual Lesions
Radiation’s role doesn’t stop at the prostate. In cases of oligometastatic prostate cancer — where the disease has spread to a limited number of sites (typically less than five) — targeting individual lesions can be both effective and minimally invasive.
“Radiating those individual small areas can be a quick outpatient procedure that is painless, highly effective,” Dr. Hamstra says. “It can often prolong the duration of the therapy they’re on, may lead to a better quality of life, and in some cases, may even improve survival.”
Radiation To Manage Symptoms
One of the most important roles of radiation therapy in metastatic prostate cancer is palliation — that is, relieving symptoms caused by the spread of the cancer.
Prostate cancer can spread to the bones, causing patients to experience added pain. Radiation can help provide relief. It can also help reduce bone fractures and mitigate spinal cord compression.
Palliative radiation is usually well-tolerated and can provide rapid relief, improving a patient’s quality of life dramatically.
While radiation offers significant benefits, it — like many treatments — can also carry the risk of side effects.
These may include:
- Fatigue (usually temporary)
- Skin irritation near the treatment site
- Mild bowel or bladder symptoms (if the pelvis is treated)
- Bone marrow suppression (in rare cases, if large areas are irradiated)
Radiation therapy is no longer confined to early-stage prostate cancer. It’s a powerful, evolving tool for men with advanced disease — one that offers hope, extended treatment windows, and improved quality of life.
Questions To Ask Your Doctor
- Should we consider radiation as part of my treatment plan?
- Is there a potential benefit to targeting radiation to the prostate?
- What sort of side effects should I expect?
- Is there anything I can do to help reduce the risk of side effects?
Content independently created by SurvivorNet with support from Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
