Study: Half Survive 10 Years After Radiation for Prostate Cancer

Just over half of older men with prostate cancer who opt for external beam radiation therapy are alive a decade later, according to a new study by Harvard researchers.

In a study of 205 men who were treated for localized prostate cancer at a median age of 72, the researchers found that 78 percent of the men were alive after five years but only 53 percent survived 10 years.

Approximately one third of the men who died during the 10-year period either died from or with recurrent prostate cancer, the researchers found.

More than half of those who were still alive after 10 years, however, were disease free with stable prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels, the researchers reported in the Journal of Urology.

The researchers said their study provides a better basis for assessing the success of radiation therapy than previous, shorther studies, and "provides a yardstick against which newer radiation modalities may be measured."

Other Sources: Journal of Urology