Gregory Swanson, M.D., presented the study results at the American Urological Association annual meeting.
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Contact: Jill Byrd, (210) 450-5550

SAN ANTONIO (May 20, 2008) — Men with prostate cancer who receive radiation after surgery have a significantly lower risk of their cancer returning and spreading, according to a presentation May 20 at the American Urological Association annual meeting in Orlando, Fla. The study authors recommend that this combined treatment be adopted as the new standard of care for men with prostate cancer.

The study findings were announced by The Cancer Therapy & Research Center at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, in collaboration with the Southwest Oncology Group, a national cancer clinical trials cooperative group. The presentation was titled, “Adjuvant radiotherapy for pT3 prostate cancer: Results of a randomized, prospective clinical trial, 2008 update.”

Study showed better survival without cancer returning
“Those of us involved in clinical research who labor year in and year out are frequently disappointed that our efforts don’t yield significant improvements in the treatment of cancer,” said Gregory Swanson, M.D., who presented the study results at the conference. Dr. Swanson is an associate professor in the departments of Radiation Oncology and Urology at the UT Health Science Center and a CTRC radiation oncologist. “This study is one of those great victories where we have shown that we can help more patients live longer and without recurrence of their cancer. It is very gratifying that we have something proven to offer men with high risk at radical prostatectomy.”

Background on the study
In the early 1990s, 425 men with aggressive prostate cancer were enrolled in the study (SWOG 8794). Within 16 weeks of having prostate surgery, the men were randomly assigned to groups that received either follow-up radiation or observation. Receiving radiation immediately after removal of the prostate gland significantly reduced recurrence of the disease by all measures (biochemical, local failure and metastatic disease) and increased the chances patients would survive without the cancer spreading, as well as their chances of overall survival.

Forty-six percent of patients who had radiation therapy lived at least 15 years without the cancer spreading, versus 38 percent for patients in the observation-only group. Overall survival for the radiation group was 47 percent versus 37 percent for those in the observation group. Radiation therapy also significantly reduced biochemical and local failure as well as the need for androgen ablation (or hormone therapy).

The study noted statistically significant increases in side effects reported by patients including frequent urination and bowel tenderness for the group that received radiation therapy compared to the observation group at six weeks and two years, but differences disappeared by five years following treatment.

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The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is one of the nation’s leading academic research and treatment centers, serving more than 4.4 million people in the high-growth corridor of Central and South Texas including Austin, San Antonio, Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley. CTRC is one of a few elite cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Designated Cancer Center, and is one of only three in Texas. CTRC handles more than 120,000 patient visits each year and is a world leader in developing new drugs to treat cancer. The CTRC Institute for Drug Development (IDD) is internationally recognized for conducting the largest oncology Phase I clinical drug trials program in the world, and participated in the clinical and/or preclinical development of many of the cancer drugs approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. For more information, visit www.ctrc.uthscsa.edu.

The Southwest Oncology Group is one of the largest cancer clinical trials cooperative groups in the United States. Funded by research grants from the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, the group conducts clinical trials to prevent and treat cancer in adults, and to improve the quality of life for cancer survivors. The group's network of more than 5,000 physician-researchers practice at nearly 550 institutions, including 18 National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich. (734-998-7130), the group has an operations office in San Antonio, Texas, and a statistical center in Seattle, Wash.