Radiation therapy has undergone phenomenal advances over the past decades. There is now strong evidence that modern radiation therapy provides equivalent (or superior) outcomes to other treatments in terms of tumour control, side effects and/or quality of life for men requiring active treatment for prostate cancer. Advances apply in both the curative and palliative settings. Radiation therapy (including external beam and/or brachytherapy) either alone or in combination with surgical and/or systemic treatments, has a central role in prostate cancer management.
This presentation will give an overview of some of the numerous ways in which radiation therapy is now better able to target the cancer, minimise side effects, enhance patient convenience and generally lead to improved prostate cancer survival and care. This session will touch upon clinical, technological, biological, imaging and genomic research as well as logistical issues that are contributing to radiation therapy in 2019 being more precise and personalised than ever before. The importance of men, their families and their healthcare teams fully understanding the radiation therapy options for managing their prostate cancer will become apparent.