2. Is there ever a need
for radiation after a
man has already had
his prostate removed
PostOp Radiation (Adjuvant Therapy) if the
pathology report from the surgery raises the
concern: “was the cancer completely removed?”
Salvage Radiation
3. PostOp Radiation
(Adjuvant Therapy): if
the pathology report
from the surgery raises
the concern: “was the
cancer completely
removed?”
• How likely is it that the cancer will
recur?
• How effective is radiation in
preventing this?
5. NCCN Advice on PostOp Radiation
RP (radical prostatectomy) PLND (pelvic lymph node dissection) RT
(radiation therapy) ADT (androgen deprivation therapy e.g. Lupron)
6. NCCN Advice on PostOp Radiation
RP (radical prostatectomy) RT (radiation therapy) ADT (androgen
deprivation therapy e.g. Lupron)
7. Adverse Features
1.Positive Surgical Margins
2.Invasion into the Seminal Vesicles
3.Extracapsular Extension
4.Detectable PSA (after surgery the
PSA should fall to undetectable by a
few weeks)
8. Prostate-specific antigen as a serum marker for adenocarcinoma of
the prostate. Stamey TA
After radical prostatectomy for cancer, PSA
routinely fell to undetectable levels, with a half-life
of 2.2 days.
N Engl J Med. 1987 Oct 8;317(15):909-16.
Prostate specific antigen in the preoperative and postoperative
evaluation of localized prostatic cancer treated with radical
prostatectomy. Oesterling JE
the half-life of prostate specific antigen was
calculated to be 3.15 days.
J Urol. 1988 Apr;139(4):766-72
9. PSA Half Life of 3 days
Surgery
6
12
Percentage
3 days
6 days
9 days
12 days
15 days
18 days
21 days
24 days
27 days
30 days
33 days
3
1.5
.75
.375
.1875
.0937
.0468
.0234
.0117
.0059 (<0.01)
.0029 (<0.01)
6
3
1.5
.75
.375
.1875
.0937
.0468
.0234
.0017
.0059 (<0.01)
50%
25%
12.5%
6.25%
3.125%
1.5625%
.0078%
.0039%
.0019%
.00098%
.00049%
Takes 4 to 5 weeks to reach undetectable
(<0.01) so most people wait 6 to 8 weeks
after surgery to check the PSA level
11. Impact of Path Reporting
Positive Surgical Margins
Odds of a PSA Relapse
Risk Group
+ Margins - Margins
Low risk
Intermediate
High
5.1%
17%
43%
J Urol. 2010;183(1):145.
0.4%
6.5%
21.5%
12. Impact of Path Reporting
Positive Surgical Margins
Odds of a PSA Relapse by 3
Years
Solitary Apical Margin
Solitary Non-apical margin
Multiple positive margins
13.0%
18.6%
27.0%
13. aboutcancer.com/medical_calculators
Adjuvant online has survival and benefit
calculators for breast, colon, lung
Breast cancer calculators here
Cancer Risk: from Harvard, various types of
cancer
Cancer Risk from X-ray Exposure
Colon cancer risk of Lynch syndrome from Dana
Farber
Colon Cancer risk from the NCI here
Head and Neck cancer survival here
Life Expectancy Calculators and Life Expectancy
for the Elderly
Life expectancy lost from smoking here
Lung cancer risk is here
Mayo clinic has calculators for melanoma
MD Anderson (breast, colon , esophagus) here
Melanoma: from the NCI, the risk of getting it
MGH has calculators for breast, melanoma, renal
Prostate cancer calculators are here
Sloan Kettering has nomograms
for bladder,breast,
colorectal,endometrial, gastric,GIST, lung,
melanoma,ovary, pancreas,prostate, renal
(kidney) and sarcoma go here
Fox Chases has many cancer
nomograms here (for kidney, prostate, bladder,
adrenal)
19. PostOp Radiation…does it work?
SWOG 8794 Trial path (425 men) = extraprostatic extension after surgery
10 Year PSA Cure Rate (seminal vesicle)
Surgery Only
Surgery Plus Radiation
12%
36%
EORTC (1005 men)
5 Year Cure Rate if Positive Margins
Surgery Only
Surgery Plus Radiation
49%
78%
German Study (Wiegel, 268 men)
5 Year Cure Rate all T3
Surgery Only
Surgery Plus Radiation
54%
72%
20. Is it Better to Treat PostOp for High
Risk Features or to Wait and Treat
later if the PSA starts rising
(salvage)?
8 Year Specific Survival by Group and Therapy
Immediate RT
Positive Margins
91%
Extra-capsular Spread
92%
Gleason 7
88%
Node Metastases
88%
Delayed
67%
75%
72%
68%
Role of postoperative radiotherapy after pelvic lymphadenectomy
and radical retropubic prostatectomy: a single institute experience of
415 patients
Cozzarini. IJROBP 2004;59:674
21. Survival Benefits from PostOp
Radiation for High Risk
Patients
RT
No RT
RT
No RT
RT
No RT
22. PSA Cure Rates with Immediate PostOp
Radiation for T3 Prostate Cancers with
Undetectable PSA
23. NCCN Advice on PostOp Radiation
RP (radical prostatectomy) RT (radiation therapy) ADT (androgen
deprivation therapy e.g. Lupron)
24. Adjuvant Radiotherapy for Pathologically Advanced
Prostate Cancer. A Randomized Clinical Trial.
425 men with pathologically advanced prostate cancer who had
undergone radical prostatectomy. Men were randomly assigned to receive
60 to 64 Gy of external beam radiotherapy delivered to the
prostatic fossa (n = 214) or usual care plus observation (n = 211).
Outcome
Surgery
Metastatic free Survival
Overall Survival
13.2 years
13.8 years
14.7 years
14.7 years
Side Effects
rectal complications
strictures
incontinence
11.9%
0%
9.5%
2.8%
23.8%
3.3%
17.8%
6.5%
Ian M. Thompson, Jr, MD;
Surgery + RT
JAMA. 2006;296:2329-2335
25. NCCN Advice on PostOp Radiation
RP (radical prostatectomy) RT (radiation therapy) ADT (androgen
deprivation therapy e.g. Lupron)
26. Immediate versus deferred androgen deprivation treatment in
patients with node-positive prostate cancer after radical
prostatectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy
Lancet Oncology Volume 7, Issue 6, June 2006, Pages 472–479
Eligible patients from 36 institutes in the USA were randomly
assigned in 1988–93 to receive immediate ADT (n=47) or to be
observed (n=51), with ADT to be given on detection of distant
metastases or symptomatic recurrences.
At median follow-up of 11.9 years, men assigned
immediate ADT had a significant improvement in
overall survival (hazard ratio 1.84 p=0.04), prostatecancer-specific survival (4.09 p=0.0004), and
progression-free survival (3.42, p<0.0001).
27. Is there ever a role
for radiation after a
man has already had
his prostate removed
PostOp Radiation (Adjuvant Therapy): if the pathology report from
the surgery raises the concern: “was the cancer completely
removed?”
Salvage Radiation: if months or
years after surgery the PSA blood
tests starts rising again
28. NCCN Advice on Salvage Radiation
RP (radical prostatectomy) RT (radiation therapy) ADT (androgen
deprivation therapy e.g. Lupron)
29. NCCN Advice on Salvage Radiation
RP (radical prostatectomy) RT (radiation therapy) ADT (androgen
deprivation therapy e.g. Lupron)
30. NCCN Advice on Salvage Radiation
RP (radical prostatectomy) RT (radiation therapy) ADT (androgen
deprivation therapy e.g. Lupron)
31. NCCN Advice on Salvage Radiation
RP (radical prostatectomy) RT (radiation therapy) ADT (androgen
deprivation therapy e.g. Lupron) PSADT (PSA doubling time)
32. NCCN Advice on Salvage Radiation
RP (radical prostatectomy) RT (radiation therapy) ADT (androgen
deprivation therapy e.g. Lupron)
33. Salvage Radiation…does it work?
Depends…
Original Pathology
What was the Gleason?
Where the surgical margins clear?
Did the cancer involve the seminal vesicles or
lymph nodes?
Was there extra-capsular spread?
How long ago was the surgery?
How fast is the PSA rising (doubling time)?
How high the did PSA get before deciding to try
radiation?
How high a dose of radiation will be used?
34. PSA Cure Rate after Salvage
Radiation Based on Gleason Score
Gleason 2-6
Gleason 7
Gleason 8-10
Time in Months
39. Cure Rate Based on the PSA Level
at the Time of the Radiation
prostate-specific antigen 0.50 or less
(blue), 0.51 to 1.00 (yellow), 1.01 to 1.50
(gray), and more than 1.50 ng/mL (red)
J Clin Oncol. 2007 May 20;25(15):2035-41.
43. Does Salvage Radiation Improve
Survival?
Mayo (2657) No improvement in 10 y mortality
(70% versus 69%)
Hopkins (635) Improved cancer mortality at 10
years 86% versus 62%
Duke (519) All cause mortality at 11 years was
reduced by 47%
J Urol. 2009;182(6):2708
JAMA. 2008;299(23):2760.
44. Does Salvage Radiation Improve
Survival?
Mayo (2657) No improvement in 10 y mortality
(70% versus 69%)
Hopkins (635) Improved cancer mortality at 10
years 86% versus 62%
Duke (519) All cause mortality at 11 years was
reduced by 47%
J Urol. 2009;182(6):2708
JAMA. 2008;299(23):2760.
45. Does Salvage Radiation Improve
Survival?
Mayo (2657) No improvement in 10 y mortality
(70% versus 69%)
Hopkins (635) Improved cancer mortality at 10
years 86% versus 62%
Duke (519) All cause mortality at 11 years was
reduced by 47%
J Urol. 2009;182(6):2708
JAMA. 2008;299(23):2760.
47. CT scan is obtained at the time of the
Simulation
CT images are then imported
into the treatment planning
computer
48. Goal = radiation zone precisely around
the prostate cancer with small margin
bladder
Radiation zone
prostate
rectum
49. IMRT (intensity
modulated radiation
therapy) using 7
different beams to
target the prostate
The computer can
determine the optimal
number of beams to
deliver the radiation
dose to hit the target
and avoid other
structures
50. After IMRT was established then
IGRT (image guided) was
introduced
51. Lower Risk of Side Effects with Image
Guided IMRT compared to IMRT
52. Better Cure Rates with Image Guided IMRT
compared to IMRT for Prostate
Intermediate Risk
High Risk
53. The most sophisticated technique for image guided IMRT is
Tomotherapy.
Combine a CT scan and linear accelerator to ultimate in
targeting (IGRT) and ultimate in delivery (dynamic, helical
IMRT) ability to daily adjust the beam (ART or adaptive
radiotherapy)
54. There is significant movement of the
prostate gland based on daily gas in
rectum
Planned
target
No Rectal gas
Planned target,
missed badly if
rectal gas
pushes the
prostate forward
Rectal gas
55. Using Tomotherapy to tightly target
the prostate with very little radiation
hitting the bladder or rectum
60. Composite MRI showing relapse
sites at the anastomosis (red) or
behind the bladder (green)
61. PostOp Radiation (after a previous radical
prostatectomy)
rectum
bladder
pubic
Area of
recurrence
62. Principles of Radiation Therapy PostProstatectomy (NCCN)
• Patients with positive margins and slow PSA
doubling time (>9 months) may benefit the most
from PostOp radiation
• In the salvage setting indications are when an
undetectable PSA becomes detectable on 2
subsequent measurements, treatment is most
effective if slow doubling time and PSA still less
than 1
• The recommended dose is 64 to 70Gy
• The target should include the prostate bed and
may include the nodes, but not the whole pelvis
64. Side Effects of Prostate Radiation
rectum
bladder
Is related to the
size and area of
normal structures
that are over
lapped by the
radiation
zone…the goal is
to keep the
radiation zone as
small as possible
65. Side Effects of Prostate Radiation
rectum
bladder
With IMRT and
image guided
techniques the goal
is to shape the
radiation zone very
precisely based on
the pathology
report and the
location of the
cancer, e.g.
margins or seminal
vesicles or lymph
nodes
66. Side Effects of Prostate Radiation
rectum
bladder
Radiation
Zone
The structures that will get hit by radiation
and have inflammation or irritation:
bladder, urethra and rectum
67. Short Term Side Effects:
Irritation of bladder, urethra
and rectum
1.
Urinary frequency (getting up at night very few hours,
take NSAID’s, or may benefit from medication)
2.
Slight burning or stinging with urination (drink cranberry
juice)
3.
Diarrhea or more frequent, softer bowel movements,
rectal soreness (take Imodium)
4.
Mild skin irritation is now rarely seen
5.
Fatigue is common
68. Long Term Side Effects:
Irritation of bladder, urethra
and rectum
Chronic radiation cystitis or proctitis: about 6% of the
men will have occasional episodes of blood in the urine or
with bowel movements, this usually responds to
medication (e.g. cortisone suppositories) The risk of
serious damage to the bladder and rectum is now less than
1%
Impotence: about 30% of men with intact prostate have
problems after radiation, in men with previous
prostatectomy this is even higher