By Dr. Andrew Loblaw, Chair, PCF
There’s been another change in the way men with prostate cancer are treated. Options have always included prostatectomy, brachytherapy or external beam radiation but recently Dr Dearneley and others from the UK have presented data showing that 20 external beam treatments (over 4 weeks) are just as effective and have the same side effects as 37 treatments (over 7.5 weeks).
This was based on a large randomized controlled trial of 3216 patients (1/3 received 37 treatments, 1/3 received 20 treatments and 1/3 received 19 treatments) who were followed on average for 5.2 years. This confirms the concept that for prostate cancer high dose per day of radiation is more effective than standard doses now makes 7-8 week courses of radiation a thing of the past! We’ve found prostate cancer’s “Achilles Heel”.
There’s been another change in the way men with prostate cancer are treated. Options have always included prostatectomy, brachytherapy or external beam radiation but recently Dr Dearneley and others from the UK have presented data showing that 20 external beam treatments (over 4 weeks) are just as effective and have the same side effects as 37 treatments (over 7.5 weeks).
This was based on a large randomized controlled trial of 3216 patients (1/3 received 37 treatments, 1/3 received 20 treatments and 1/3 received 19 treatments) who were followed on average for 5.2 years. This confirms the concept that for prostate cancer high dose per day of radiation is more effective than standard doses now makes 7-8 week courses of radiation a thing of the past! We’ve found prostate cancer’s “Achilles Heel”.
It also reaffirms the importance of taking this concept to the next level. Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) is a more precise external beam radiation technique that takes advantage of this “Achilles Heel” for prostate cancer. SABR is even more convenient and appears to be more effective than standard external beam radiation (Loblaw A et al, 2014). Patients only need 5 non-invasive treatments, compared to the usual 20-39 treatment course.
An international clinical trial called PACE (Prostate Advances in Comparative Evidence) opened on February 16, 2016 at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Dr. William Chu is the Canadian Lead for the study. Patients will be randomly assigned to standard radiation (the choice of 20 or 39 treatments) or SABR (5 treatments). Already 6 patients have been recruited to the study at Odette and 6 more are lined up to start.
The PACE trial is taking place at 14 cancer centres across Canada. Other centres include: CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg; Juravinski Cancer Centre, Hamilton; Lakeridge Health, Oshawa; London Regional Cancer Centre, London; Jewish General, Rosemount and Central Sud Hospitals, Montreal; Ottawa Regional Cancer Centre, Ottawa; Northeast Cancer Centre, Sudbury; Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto; Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Calgary; Walker Family Health, St. Catherine’s; and Windsor Regional Cancer Centre, Windsor.
The Prostate Cure Foundation and Ride For Dad are co-sponsoring the trial in Canada, helped by generous donations from Astellas, Janssen and Astra Zeneca.
Men with favorable-risk prostate cancer who are interested in participating in the SABR Prostate Cancer Trial should contact their oncologist to see if they might qualify for the trial. For further information on the Prostate Cure Foundation and SABR, visit www.prostatecure.ca
An international clinical trial called PACE (Prostate Advances in Comparative Evidence) opened on February 16, 2016 at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Dr. William Chu is the Canadian Lead for the study. Patients will be randomly assigned to standard radiation (the choice of 20 or 39 treatments) or SABR (5 treatments). Already 6 patients have been recruited to the study at Odette and 6 more are lined up to start.
The PACE trial is taking place at 14 cancer centres across Canada. Other centres include: CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg; Juravinski Cancer Centre, Hamilton; Lakeridge Health, Oshawa; London Regional Cancer Centre, London; Jewish General, Rosemount and Central Sud Hospitals, Montreal; Ottawa Regional Cancer Centre, Ottawa; Northeast Cancer Centre, Sudbury; Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto; Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Calgary; Walker Family Health, St. Catherine’s; and Windsor Regional Cancer Centre, Windsor.
The Prostate Cure Foundation and Ride For Dad are co-sponsoring the trial in Canada, helped by generous donations from Astellas, Janssen and Astra Zeneca.
Men with favorable-risk prostate cancer who are interested in participating in the SABR Prostate Cancer Trial should contact their oncologist to see if they might qualify for the trial. For further information on the Prostate Cure Foundation and SABR, visit www.prostatecure.ca
RSS Feed
