Dose-escalated radiation therapy reduced the need for subsequent therapy in patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer but did not improve overall survival, according to results of a large, randomized clinical trial.
The absence of a survival benefit compared with standard radiation therapy was seen despite a reduction in rates of both biochemical failure and distant metastases, Jeff M. Michalski, MD, and his associates reported in JAMA Oncology.
Negative overall survival results may be attributable to the growing availability of systemic salvage therapies that have prolonged the natural history of this disease, said Dr. Michalski, MD, of the department of radiation oncology at Washington University in St. Louis.
“Patients experiencing a biochemical or clinical failure may go on to receive several life-prolonging systemic agents, which may negate any clinical advantage from a more effective primary local therapy,” Dr. Michalski and associates wrote.