TUESDAY, July 25, 2023 (HealthDay News) — A way that uses imaging technology as a guide could make radiation therapy safer for patients undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, a brand new research review finds.
The technology enables clinicians to accurately aim the radiation beams on the prostate, while avoiding bladder, urethra and rectal tissue. This, in turn, reduces short-term negative effects for patients, in line with researchers who analyzed 29 published studies. They reported their findings online July 24 within the journal Cancer.
The technique known as magnetic resonance-guided each day adaptive stereotactic body radiotherapy (MRg-A-SBRT).
Reviewing studies involving greater than 2,500 patients in all, the researchers found that MRg-A-SBRT was related to a 44% reduction in urinary negative effects and a 60% reduction in bowel negative effects.
“The study is the primary to directly evaluate the advantages of MR-guided adaptive prostate radiation compared to a different more standard and standard type of radiation, and it provides support to be used of this treatment within the management of prostate cancer,” study co-author Dr. Jonathan Leeman said in a journal news release. He’s a radiation oncologist with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Using this method, doctors can adjust a patient’s radiation plan day-after-day in response to anatomical changes. They may monitor the position of the prostate in real time while the radiation beam is on.
Even though it was rising in popularity, it was unclear whether the technique had an impact on clinical outcomes and negative effects compared with other ways of delivering radiation.
Whether the short-term advantages will result in long-term advantages would require longer follow-up, Leeman said.
It’s also not clear which aspect of the technology is liable for the improved outcomes.
“It could potentially be the aptitude for imaging-based monitoring in the course of the treatment or it may very well be related to the adaptive planning component. Further studies will probably be needed to disentangle this,” Leeman said.
More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more on prostate cancer.
SOURCE: Cancer, news release, July 24, 2023