Technological advances in radiation therapy for prostate cancer

Radiation therapy (RT) for prostate cancer has made huge strides over the past two decades. The addition of image guidance has allowed radiation oncologists to ensure accurate delivery of increasingly precise radiation treatment plans using newer conformal therapy methods such as three-dimensional conformal RT, intensity-modulated RT, and proton beam RT. Regardless of the specific treatment technique, patients can depend on the treatment to target the moving prostate effectively while significantly sparing adjacent tissues, thereby reducing the morbidity of having to undergo prostate cancer therapy. This review summarizes the recent technical advances made in radiation dose delivery, including target volume definition, treatment planning, treatment delivery methods, and positional verification methods during RT.