Radiotherapy of patients with regional recurrence of prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy

Abstract

Background. Salvage radiation therapy is the “gold standard” of treatment for patients with recurrent prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy. However, the results of the effectiveness of salvage radiation therapy in patients with regional recurrences are significantly lower than in patients with local one of prostate cancer, and, as a rule, the progression of the disease more often continues lymphogenic, affecting the next barrier of lymph outflow – retroperitoneal lymph nodes.Aim. To develop a new more effective radical method of salvage radiation therapy in patients with regional relapses of prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy.Materials and methods. The radiotherapy department of the N. N. Blokhin National Medical Research Center of Oncology of the Ministry of Health of Russia has developed a new method of hypofractionation salvage radiation therapy of patients with regional recurrences of prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy, which includes treatment not only to regional recurrences, the bed of prostate and regional lymph nodes of the pelvis, but also and prophylactic radiation treatment to retroperitoneal lymph nodes.Results. 25 patients were treated with prophylactic radiation treatment to retroperitoneal lymph nodes from 2018 to 2021. The median follow-up of patients was 19 (7–22) months. In all patients, radiotherapy was performed in combination with hormone therapy with analogues of luteinizing hormone releasing hormone with a median duration of administration of 8 (6–10) months. All patients were treated without interruption according to the previously planned dosimetric treatment plans. At the end of the course of radiation therapy, none of the patients had any pronounced negative effects of the III–IV degree (according to the RTOG /EORTC scale). The 1-year local and biochemical control of the disease were 100 and 88 %, respectively.Conclusions. Initial data assessing the safety of the newly developed salvage radiation therapy technique in hypofractionation mode with additional prophylactic of retroperitoneal lymph nodes demonstrate good tolerability. However, further study and randomized phase III clinical trial are required to determine clinical efficacy.