Radiation therapy for carcinoma of the prostate

The results of megavoltage radiotherapy by linear accelerator for the prostatic cancer are reported. Most of the patients were treated with combined radiation and hormone therapy. Five-year survival rates in stages B, C, and D were 91.7%, 58.9%, and 25.3%, respectively. Patients with stage C disease did poorly following radiotherapy compared to stage A and B patients. Improvement of overall status and atrophy of prostatic lesions was more frequently observed in stage B than in stage C disease. The post-therapeutic course was good in those patients in whom the prostate atrophied, and when this was combined with an absence of detectable cancer cells, the post-therapeutic course was excellent. Many patients who experienced only general improvement or no change in prostate size after irradiation experienced reactivation or developed metastasis.