Is prostate-specific radiation of any value in men diagnosed with distant metastases?

[Paul Edwards]

Some men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer have metastases at the time of their diagnosis.

 

Until recently the primary treatment for these men was Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT).

 

Since the CHAARTED and STAMPEDE trials, ADT + Chemotherapy (Docetaxel) has become the standard of care for these men.

 

What about ADT + Chemotherapy + Radiotherapy for these men?

 

Maybe.  Removal of the primary cancer has been used effectively in other cancers, either using radiation or surgery to increase cancer-specific survival time.  "Whether radiotherapy or surgery is of any benefit after early chemotherapy is still very much an open question" for prostate cancer.

 

Mike Scott and Allen  Edel of the New Prostate Cancer Infolink suggest that it's something that a patient who is diagnosed at the outset with metatastes should discuss with their radiation oncologist.

 

Click on this link to read the article.