Salvage Versus Adjuvant Radiation Therapy Following Radical Prostatectomy in Localised Prostate Cancer: A War Without a Winner

Abstract

ObjectiveTo review current literature regarding the efficacy of adjuvant radiation therapy (ART) and salvage radiation therapy (SRT) following radical prostatectomy (RP) in patients with undetectable postoperative prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and high-risk features of prostate cancer (PCa) recurrence.MethodsSeven randomized controlled trials focused on the use of ART compared with either observation or SRT after RP that had been published in PubMed up to May 2022 were reviewed.ResultsThe use of ART following RP has been the treatment of choice over the past decade. Three RCTs comparing ART with early SRT show that SRT given as soon as biochemical recurrence (BCR) is detected is not inferior to ART while it offers the opportunity to avoid overtreatment and potential RT-related side effects. A meta-analysis summarizing the results from these trials supports these findings.ConclusionsEarly SRT may be suggested as the standard of care for patients with PCa and high-risk features for disease recurrence following RP. Nevertheless, further investigations are needed to identify those patients who will benefit from ART, particularly, in case of lymph node involvement. Moreover, some patients might avoid SRT despite reaching detectable postoperative serum PSA levels.