Dose-escalated radiation therapy with and without short-course androgen deprivation for intermediate-risk prostate cancer.

Aim: To investigate outcomes in intermediate-risk (IR) prostate cancer patients receiving dose-escalated external beam radiation therapy (RT) with or without short-course androgen deprivation (ADT).

Patients And Methods: This study comprised of 203 patients with IR prostate cancer who were treated at a single institution to a dose of 7,560 cGy or more between 2003-2010. Of these, 62 (30.5%) patients received ADT. Biochemical recurrence, distant metastatic-free survival, prostate cancer-specific survival, and overall survival were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Results: The median follow-up was 62 months and the median duration of ADT was 6 months. The 6-year biochemical control was 89.2% for those receiving RT plus ADT versus 76.7% in those receiving RT alone (p=0.02). There were no differences between the two groups regarding distant metastatic-free survival, prostate cancer-specific survival, and overall survival (respective p-values of 0.91, 0.50, 0.67).

Conclusion: Dose-escalated RT and short-course ADT results in improved biochemical outcomes for IR prostate cancer.