Results from a large study have shown that combining radiotherapy and hormone therapy in patients with prostate cancer significantly improved men’s survival compared with hormone therapy treatment alone. The study was conducted by the Medical Research Council (MRC) in collaboration with the NCIC Clinical Trials Group located at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada.
Approximately 10,000 men die from prostate cancer in the UK each year, making it the second most common cause of cancer death in men after lung cancer. The Researchers wanted to conduct a trial as it was unknown whether radiotherapy would increase these men’s life expectancy and reduce their likelihood of dying from their prostate cancer.
In a randomized controlled trial, known in the UK as PR07, researchers enrolled 1,205 men between 1995 and 2005 who were predominantly from the UK and Canada and had been diagnosed with locally advanced prostate cancer that had grown outside the surface of the prostate but had not spread further. Whilst 50% of the men received hormone therapy, a standard form of drug treatment, the other half received a combination of the same hormone therapy with courses of radiotherapy.
The researchers observed that 74% of men were still alive at the seven- year point in the combined radiotherapy plus hormone therapy group, compared with 66% in the hormone-only group. They also discovered that the risk of specifically dying from their prostate cancer was decreased by about 50% in patients in the combined treatment group.
Senior scientist at the MRC Clinical Trials Unit, Matthew Sydes, comments:
“The results of this trial are extremely encouraging. The additional side effects of radiotherapy are minimal and we are delighted that, through the combined efforts of patients, clinicians and researchers across the world, we can be confident when doctors recommend radiotherapy for their patients. Further research is currently underway to improve outcomes for prostate cancer patients.”
Co-author Professor Malcolm Mason from Cardiff University adds:
“We’re very grateful to all the men who took part in this trial and we’re delighted that the trial has shown that radiotherapy is extremely worthwhile for patients with prostate cancer that is locally advanced. The next stage will be to ensure that the results of this trial are implemented into treatment recommendations as quickly as possible.”
Lead investigator Padraig Warde, who is deputy head at Princess Margaret Hospital radiation medicine program at Toronto’s University Health Network, declares:
“The study shows that combining radiation and hormone therapy improves overall survival by 23 percent in relative terms and disease-specific survival by 43 percent in relative terms, compared with treating with hormone therapy alone. Based on these results, we believe adding radiation to the treatment plan should become part of the standard therapy.”
Professor Max Parmar, director of the MRC Clinical Trials Unit, concludes:
“Well-conducted large scale clinical trials, such as PR07, are essential to making sure that treatment decisions are based on the best possible evidence. By answering the important question of whether prostate cancer patients would benefit from radiotherapy, we have hopefully altered the way this disease will be treated from now on.”
Written by Petra Rattue