Intermittent androgen ablation may be an option for patients with advanced prostate cancer and may be especially beneficial for those with initially low BMD levels. Patients with elevated alkaline phosphatase levels at entry or a flare in its activity may not be ideal candidates. Whether prolonging time to androgen independence will provide benefit remains to be investigated in a randomized, prospective study. The present study reports biochemical outcomes of a modern series of patients with localised prostate cancer treated with external beam radiation therapy, and analyses the implications of the nadir PSA levels in monitoring outcome after treatment. Adjuvant androgen deprivation was associated in 53 high risk patients.
Radiation therapy is a potentially curative treatment for prostate carcinoma.
Our data indicate that the nadir PSA value after radiation can be an excellent early determinant of outcome. None of the patients received hormonal therapy. Nonuniform loading explicitly spares the urethra by using only basal and apical seeds in at least two centrally located needles. Peripheral loading uses higher activity seeds with the posterior implant plane 5 mm anterior to the posterior border of the prostate. These regions approach within 10 mm of the rectum or urethra, so these two approaches require greater accuracy in intraoperative execution of the plan.