Salvage focal therapy and surgery equally effective after radiation

Posted by jeff Marchi @jeffmarc, Mar 2 10:59am

People who have radiation as their primary treatment have been told by doctors that surgery isn’t really an option if there’s a reoccurrence. Other options are not really mentioned..

This study shows that both salvage focal therapy (HIFU and cryotherapy) and salvage surgery were equally effective at extending the life of a patient that started off with radiation.

Those that had focal therapy had fewer perioperative complications.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/article-abstract/2844900

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heavyphil | @heavyphil | Mar 3 7:26am

That’s great to know; but, of course it would not address anything but the prostate gland and bed.
They don’t have 5 yr survival rates yet but that will tell the true tale of those whose cancer was really ‘localized’ and those who had it also in the nodes or peritoneum.
As much as I hated the thought of surgery, the surgery itself and the eternal ruinous effects on my sex life, in hindsight I am glad that I chose surgery since it left open the opportunity for SRT, which I eventually needed.
Just my thoughts on my own situation; everyone has to choose for themselves.
Phil

jeff Marchi | @jeffmarc | Mar 3 11:08am

Other other thing that was brought up at the ancan.org Meeting was that most people who have radiation don’t have the reoccurrence in the 40% that’s left of the prostate. It’s usually bone or other tissue that the reoccurrence show up in.

The thing is though, a lot of doctors say that if you have surgery, they can have salvage radiation but if you have radiation, they can’t do that. But they can do other things, that aren’t mentioned.

dribbles | @dribbles | Mar 4 3:33pm

In reply to @jeffmarc "Other other thing that was brought up at the ancan.org Meeting was that most people who..." + (show)

@jeffmarc Thanks for this Jeff. Its great info for what I'm evaluating now. It also validates what my Mayo DR. suggested; that Cryo and HIFU could be used in the Prostate if the 5% chance of recurrence happens there.
Hard to compare the salvage success in the Prostate or bed with Cryo or HIFU vs the salvage success of surgery and SRT. Of course outside the bed they have the same treatment options.