Post-Surgery Radiation Boosts Prostate Cancer Results

And a second study suggests testosterone replacement may not harm prostate

By E.J. Mundell
HealthDay Reporter

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TUESDAY, Nov. 14 (HealthDay News) -- A series of studies in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association offers good news to men battling prostate cancer or concerned about healthy prostate function.

One trial found that the use of radiation therapy after prostate removal improves results for men at high risk for prostate cancer recurrence.

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"The benefit of adjuvant radiation is now confirmed in prostate cancer, like it is in many other cancers. Finally, we have the data to show that these patients can be helped further after their surgery," said Dr. Gregory Swanson, associate professor of radiation oncology at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio.

A second study, focused on the biology of prostate tissue in older men, found that links between testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and prostate cancer "may not be as great as once feared," according to the trial's lead author, Dr. Leonard Marks, medical director of the Urological Sciences Research Foundation in Culver City, Calif. His team found no changes in the prostate tissue of older men after six months of TRT.

Both researchers presented their findings Tuesday at an American Medical Association news briefing in New York City that was timed to the release of the Nov. 15 issue of JAMA, which is focused on men's health.

Despite advances in early detection and treatment, prostate cancer remains a leading killer of American men. Most fatal cases of the disease occur when it is allowed to migrate beyond the gland, sparking disease recurrence.

According to Swanson, about one-third of the 230,000 new prostate cases diagnosed in the United States each year are treated with radical prostatectomy -- surgical removal of the organ. In up to half of those cases -- 30,000 men -- post-surgical tests reveal traces of lingering cancer cells that boost the risk of a recurrence.

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