Genitourinary Injury After Radiation Therapy: Understanding Burden of Disease and Evolving Therapeutic Advancements

Genitourinary injury after prostate radiation therapy encompasses a wide spectrum of disease states that present after radiation, including fistula, stricture, and bladder fibrosis, resulting in debilitating changes in quality of life and loss of function. Management often includes temporizing urinary diversion, endoscopic therapies, and ultimately, surgical intervention, including pelvic organ extirpation. Though challenging to manage, novel adjuncts and minimally invasive approaches in the treatment of the sequelae of radiation injury are evolving, offering new treatment paradigms for this complicated population of patients. Herein, we review the burden of radiation injury after prostate cancer therapy and recent advancements in surgical and nonsurgical management strategies. PATIENT SUMMARY: This mini-review discusses the current understanding of urology related injury after radiation for prostate cancer and what treatment may be available to treat harmful aftereffects.