How Five-Fraction SBRT Compares With Traditional Radiation in Prostate Cancer

For patients with low- to intermediate-risk localized prostate cancer, five-fraction stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) could be a more convenient radiation option compared with traditional radiation therapy techniques, an expert said.

Traditional radiation techniques include external beam radiation and brachytherapy, explained Dr. Jonathan E. Leeman. External beam radiation is when radiotherapy is delivered from a machine to target the prostate directly, he said. Brachytherapy is the delivery of internal radiation by implanting radioactive seeds in the prostate or through small catheters inserted into the prostate, Leeman also explained.

Leeman is a radiation oncologist and director of the MR Linac and Adaptive Radiation Oncology Program and is leading research in SBRT prostate cancer at Dana-Faber Cancer Institute and the Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center, both in Boston.

READ MORE: SBRT May Be Effective in Managing Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer

However, these traditional radiation techniques may require “several weeks with daily treatments,” Leeman noted. Five-fraction SBRT instead requires five sessions of radiation therapy, which can be significantly more convenient for patients.

Leeman sat down with CURE® to compare five-fraction SBRT with traditional radiation techniques for prostate cancer and what the advantages are.

Transcript:

At face value, doing five-fraction SBRT compared with doing, you know, 20 or 28 or 44 radiation treatments is obviously much more convenient for people going through cancer treatment. It's more cost-effective. Also, it's just a much less disruptive treatment to patients’ lives. You can imagine, needing to come in for treatment every day over the course of two months, people trying to work at the same time, people sometimes have to move or commute long distances for their treatments. It's really disruptive.

So if we can shorten the treatment to something like five sessions, it makes it much easier for patients. It will allow many more patients to be effectively treated. And then there are also some sort of theoretical reasons why doing a shorter and more condensed radiation treatment like five fraction SBRT may actually be more effective biologically. So, I think there are several potential advantages of a five-fraction SBRT regimen compared with traditional radiation.

Transcript was edited for clarity and conciseness.

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters here.