West LA Times

A recent study co-led by UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers indicates that a shorter, standard-dose course of radiation treatment is as effective as conventional radiotherapy for prostate cancer. The study confirms that the approach known as isodose moderately hypofractionated radiotherapy (MHFRT) delivers similar cancer control rates without increasing long-term side effects.

This MHFRT method administers slightly higher doses of radiation per session, reducing the total treatment time to four to five weeks compared to the traditional seven to eight weeks. According to the findings published in Lancet Oncology, patients receiving this type of MHFRT experienced equivalent cancer control rates and no increase in bladder or intestinal side effects compared to those undergoing conventional radiotherapy.

Dr. Amar Kishan, executive vice chair of radiation oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and co-first author of the study, stated: “We believe these data strongly support that isodose MHFRT should become the preferred standard of care MHFRT regimen for prostate cancer.”

Concerns remain regarding whether higher daily doses could heighten risks such as urinary incontinence and chronic diarrhea. However, an analysis involving over 5,800 patients across seven randomized clinical trials found no significant difference in five-year progression-free survival between patients receiving isodose MHFRT and those undergoing conventional therapy. Both groups reported similar outcomes, with a slight advantage in gastrointestinal side effects favoring conventional therapy.

Despite expectations that dose-escalated MHFRT might improve outcomes, it showed no additional benefit in cancer control and posed a higher risk of gastrointestinal issues. Dr. Kishan noted this highlights the advantages of isodose MHFRT: “These findings reinforce isodose MHFRT as the standard of care, offering the same cancer control as conventional treatment but with fewer side effects than dose-escalated MHFRT.”

The study was supported by grants from the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health.