Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 8, 2026
A New Technique for Treating Low-risk Prostate Cancer—Super Active Surveillance
Published on: November 7, 2025
A multi-institutional analysis comparing adjuvant and salvage radiation therapy for high-risk prostate cancer
Tom Budiharto1, Christiaan Perneel, Karin Haustermans
1Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven Cancer Institute, Leuven, Belgium. tom.budiharto@uz.kuleuven.ac.be
Background And Purpose:
In men with adverse pathology at the time of radical prostatectomy (RP), the most appropriate timing to administer radiotherapy (RT) remains a subject for debate. To determine whether salvage radiotherapy (SRT) upon early prostate-specific antigen (PSA) relapse is equivalent to immediate adjuvant radiotherapy (ART) post RP.
Material And Methods:
130 patients receiving ART and 89 receiving SRT were identified. All had an undetectable PSA after RP. Homogeneous subgroups were built based on the status (±) of lymphatic invasion (LVI) and surgical margins (SM), to allow a comparison of ART and SRT. Biochemical disease-free survival (bDFS) was calculated from the date of surgery and from the end of RT. The multivariate analysis was performed using the Cox Proportional hazard model.
Results:
In the SM-/LVI- and SM+/LVI- groups, SRT was a significant predictor of a decreased bDFS from the date of surgery, while in the SM+/LVI+ group, there was a trend towards significance. From the end of RT, SRT was also a significant predictor of a decreased bDFS in three patient groups: SM-/LVI-, SM+/LVI- and SM+/LVI+. Gleason score >7 showed to be another factor on multivariate analysis associated with decreased bDFS in the SM-/LVI- group, from the date of surgery and end of RT. Preoperative PSA was a significant predictor in the SM-/LVI- group from the date of RP only.
Conclusions:
Immediate ART post RP for patients with high risk features in the prostatectomy specimen significantly reduces bDFS after RP compared with early SRT upon PSA relapse.
