What dose of external-beam radiation is high enough for prostate cancer? INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RADIATION ONCOLOGY BIOLOGY PHYSICS Eade, T. N., Hanlon, A. L., Horwitz, E. M., Buyyounouski, M. K., Hanks, G. E., Pollack, A. 2007; 68 (3): 682-689

Abstract

To quantify the radiotherapy dose-response of prostate cancer, adjusted for prognostic factors in a mature cohort of men treated relatively uniformly at a single institution.The study cohort consisted of 1,530 men treated with three-dimensional conformal external-beam radiotherapy between 1989 and 2002. Patients were divided into four isocenter dose groups: <70 Gy (n = 43), 70-74.9 Gy (n = 552), 75-79.9 Gy (n = 568), and > or =80 Gy (n = 367). The primary endpoints were freedom from biochemical failure (FFBF), defined by American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) and Phoenix (nadir + 2.0 ng/mL) criteria, and freedom from distant metastases (FFDM). Multivariate analyses were performed and adjusted Kaplan-Meier estimates were calculated. Logit regression dose-response functions were determined at 5 and 8 years for FFBF and at 5 and 10 years for FFDM.Radiotherapy dose was significant in multivariate analyses for FFBF (ASTRO and Phoenix) and FFDM. Adjusted 5-year estimates of ASTRO FFBF for the four dose groups were 60%, 68%, 76%, and 84%. Adjusted 5-year Phoenix FFBFs for the four dose groups were 70%, 81%, 83%, and 89%. Adjusted 5-year and 10-year estimates of FFDM for the four dose groups were 96% and 93%, 97% and 93%, 99% and 95%, and 98% and 96%. Dose-response functions showed an increasing benefit for doses > or =80 Gy.Doses of > or =80 Gy are recommended for most men with prostate cancer. The ASTRO definition of biochemical failure does not accurately estimate the effects of radiotherapy at 5 years because of backdating, compared to the Phoenix definition, which is less sensitive to follow-up and more reproducible over time.

View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2007.01.008

View details for Web of Science ID 000247284600007

View details for PubMedID 17398026

View details for PubMedCentralID PMC2770596