Possible problems and solutions after radiation therapy for prostate cancer

Curative treatment of early-stage prostate cancer is either radical radiotherapy, or surgery, whereas the treatment of locally advanced prostate cancer is hormonotherapy and radiotherapy. Side effects of external radiotherapy can be divided into three main groups as gastrointestinal (GI), genitourinary (GU), and sexual side effects. During recent years a significant reduction in the rate of serious side effects has been achieved due to the development of modern radiotherapy techniques. With the use of these techniques such as IMRT, and IGRT the rate of serious early or late morbidity has decreased to 1%, and the rate of Grade 1 and 2 morbidity has decreased even more. Quality of life studies have revealed that even high doses can be given safely with modern radiotherapy techniques without any late changes in the quality of life. Conclusion: With the use of high-dose modern radiotherapy techniques treatment success of prostate cancer has increased without increase in morbidity.