Study Suggests Salvage Radiation Helps Some Prostate Cancer Patients

HEALTH NEWS &emdash; The way doctors treat prostate cancer may change. Until now, if a man had prostate cancer that came back, most weren't treat with radiation, thinking it wouldn't help. But now, experts say radiation might be a lifesaver. A new study suggests prostate cancer patients who show signs of a recurrence of the disease after their prostate is removed can be helped by radiation therapy. Researchers say what's known as "salvage radiation" may potentially cure patients whose disease recurs after radical prostatectomy. However, there's other evidence suggesting that it's ineffective in the patients at highest risk of spread of the disease. The study, in the current issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, demonstrates that some patients thought to be incurable could benefit from the treatment if given in the course of recurrent disease. The results also suggest that metastatic disease progression for those patients at the highest risk can be prevented.
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