Men's Health > Prostate Cancer > radiation therapy

Radiation Advances

Recent advances in nonsurgical treatments to treat prostate cancer provide realistic alternatives for men with a condition that until a few years ago was commonly treated by major surgery. Better still, these noninvasive methods have the same cure rates for early stage prostate cancer as traditional surgery.

Radiation Therapy

This technique uses high-energy rays or particles to kill cancer cells. Both external beam radiation and brachytherapy (seed implants) have a good track record in treating prostate cancer.

One of the most important developments in this area is IMRT (intensity modulated radiation therapy). IMRT allows a change in the size, shape and strength of the beam to focus enough radiation on the tumor to kill the cancer cells while sparing surrounding healthy tissue.

Yet the prostate can shift its position by mere millimeters from one day to the next, making it difficult to focus the radiation beam with precision before treatment. A technique called tomotherapy solves this problem.

By combining IMRT with a CT scanner, an oncologist cans ee a three-dimensional anatomic image of the prostate the day before treatment and literally shape the radiation beam to the exact contour of the tumor.

This enhanced accuracy allows doctors to give increased doses more likely to kill the tumor while limiting the amount of normal tissue exposed to radiation, minimizing side effects and providing men with a better quality of life.

Jim Shaw