Radiation oncologists use radiation for prostate cancer to destroy cancer cells, reduce their growth or to relieve symptoms of the cancer. Radiation therapy treatment is often used in men with early prostate cancer that hasn’t spread, although it can also be used in combination with other treatments, or if the cancer has returned.¹

As you may have the option between surgery and radiation therapy treatment, it is important to talk with your urologist and your radiation oncologist to help you weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of different treatment options and possible side effects like incontinence and erectile dysfunction, availability and cost to help you make an informed decision about the best treatment for you.

There are many different radiation therapy techniques that may be suitable for your prostate cancer. The treatment you receive will depend on the size and stage of your cancer, your general health and treatment preferences.

External beam radiation therapy (EBRT) uses one or more beams to deliver high energy x-rays from outside the body to the cancerous area. Treatment is usually given over 4–8 weeks; each treatment is about 15 minutes.

Types of EBRT which can be used for the treatment of prostate cancer include:

• Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) – a high precision type of radiation therapy that uses computer controlled linear accelerators to deliver high dose radiation to cancerous tumours in the prostate
• Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) – a novel radiation therapy technique that delivers the radiation dose continuously as the treatment machine rotates. This technique accurately shapes the radiation dose to the tumour while minimising the dose to surrounding organs. VMAT can be used to treat large areas of the body with uneven boundaries and tumours located close to vital organs, such as prostate cancers, without fear of damage to these organs by high doses of radiation

Ensuring your radiation therapy treatment is highly-accurate

Fiducial markers (gold seeds) are also sometimes used at the discretion of your radiation oncologist, which help to more accurately locate the prostate gland during radiation therapy treatment.

Reducing your risk of side effects

Your doctor may talk to you about having SpaceOAR Hydrogel implanted by a urologist ahead of your treatment. SpaceOAR Hydrogel is a gel-like substance that is implanted between the prostate and rectum to reduce side effects during radiation therapy treatment. As the rectum and prostate are very close and separated by only a small space, the rectum can be affected by radiation to the prostate. SpaceOAR Hydrogel moves the rectal wall away from the prostate, protecting the rectum from being damaged during radiation therapy.

Stereotactic radiation therapy is an advanced technique used to treat small tumours with well-defined edges and can be used to treat both primary and metastatic (advanced) prostate cancer. Stereotactic radiation therapy reduces the overall treatment time to one and a half weeks, delivering high doses of radiation in less than 15 minutes, and monitors the patient’s prostate motion using small gold markers to ensure the radiation is delivered with absolute accuracy.

Stereotactic radiation therapy can also be used to treat advanced prostate cancer where the disease has started to spread to other parts of the body. Traditionally patients would be treated with hormone therapy and chemotherapy, which are often associated with negative side effects. Icon Group’s recent TRANSFORM study, published in the International Journal of Cancer, found that stereotactic radiation therapy can delay progression to these more toxic treatments for more than two years.