Adding Proton Therapy 'Boost' to X-Ray Radiation Therapy Reduces Prostate Cancer Recurrences

Adding Proton Therapy 'Boost' to X-Ray Radiation Therapy Reduces Prostate
Cancer Recurrences

CHICAGO, Nov. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Men who receive a "boost" of proton
therapy after receiving a standard course of X-ray radiation therapy have
fewer recurrences of their prostate cancer compared to men who did not receive
the extra dose of proton radiation, according to a first-of-its-kind study
presented November 2, 2009, at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's
51st Annual Meeting in Chicago. The multi-institutional, randomized trial also
shows that the high dose treatment is safe for these patients and causes no
severe problems later with urinary or bowel functions.

"There is a lot of interest in proton therapy for prostate cancer. This study
proves the importance of giving high radiation doses to prostate cancer
patients with low- and intermediate-risk disease because it demonstrates that
even these 'favorable' patients still benefit from the extra high-dose
treatment," Carl J. Rossi Jr., M.D., a study author and a radiation oncologist
at the Loma Linda University Medical Center in Loma Linda, Calif., said. "It
also shows that so long as these higher doses are given with a highly
conformal technique, such as proton beam therapy, then they can be delivered
safely and with minimal side effects."

Proton beam therapy is a form of external beam radiation treatment that uses
protons rather than photon X-rays to treat certain types of cancer and other
diseases. The physical characteristics of the proton therapy beam allow the
radiation oncologist to more effectively reduce the radiation dose to nearby
healthy tissue.

During external beam radiation therapy, a beam of radiation is directed
through the skin to the cancer and the immediate surrounding area in order to
destroy the main tumor and any nearby cancer cells.

The study involved 391 patients with early prostate cancer (cancer that has
not spread out of the prostate) receiving proton treatments at Loma Linda
University Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Patients were randomized to receive either "standard dose" or "high dose"
radiation, with proton beams being used to deliver the high-dose radiotherapy
to prostate.

Findings show that in patients with a low risk of having the cancer return
(recurrence), only six percent of patients who were treated with high dose
radiation had the cancer return after 10 years, compared to 29 percent who had
conventional radiation doses. Similarly, of the patients with an intermediate
risk of cancer recurrence, 37 percent who underwent high dose radiation had
cancer come back, versus 45 percent of those who had conventional doses of
radiation. There were no significant differences between the two groups in how
long they survived and in their urinary and bowel functions.

For more information on radiation therapy for prostate cancer, visit
www.rtanswers.org.

The abstract, "A Phase III Trial Employing Conformal Photons with Proton Boost
in Early-stage Prostate Cancer: Conventional Dose (70.2gye) Compared to High
Dose Irradiation (79.2 GyE): Long-term Updated Analysis of Proton Radiation
Oncology Group (PROG)/American College of Radiology (ACR) 95-09," was
presented at a scientific session at 11:20 p.m. on Monday, November 2, 2009.
To speak to one of the study authors, Carl J. Rossi Jr., M.D., please call
Beth Bukata or Nicole Napoli November 1-4, 2009, in the ASTRO Press Room at
McCormick Place West at 312-791-7005 or 312-791-7006. You may also e-mail them
at bethb@astro.org or nicolen@astro.org.

SOURCE American Society for Radiation Oncology

Beth Bukata, +1-312-791-7005, +1-312-791-7006, bethb@astro.org or Nicole
Napoli, nicolen@astro.org, +1-312-791-7005, +1-312-791-7006, both of the
American Society for Radiation Oncology