Initial results from an ongoing study indicate that using MRI to guide precisely-focused high dose radiation treatment for prostate cancer, reduced side effects associated with the treatment.
Advanced radiation technics like high-dose stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) offer the opportunity to deliver high radiation doses to tumors, while sparing surrounding tissues. Computed tomography (CT) is often used to help make sure the dose is delivered with precision. However, MRI offers several theoretical advantages over CT to guide SBRT for prostate cancer, including the ability to aggressively reduce planning margins needed for radiation due to enhanced imaging capabilities.
The purpose of the current study was to compare between the two above-mentioned modalities, with respect to differences in serious side effects over the next 90 days after treatment. In accordance with the study goal, patients undergoing SRBT for localized prostate cancer were randomly assigned to either CT-guidance or MRI-guidance SBRT and followed thereafter.
In the analysis of the first 100 patients treated, it was found that patients undergoing MRI-guidance were less than half as likely to experience genitourinary toxicity like frequent urination, burning sensation while urinating, bloody urine or urinary incontinence. Similarly, while a significant proportion of patients who had CT-guidance suffered gastrointestinal toxicities, such as diarrhea, discharge or rectal/abdominal pain, none of the patients undergoing MRI-guidance did so.
Although not finally, these results pointing towards the significant advantages of MRI over CT guidance SBRT. Thus, the researchers are very optimistic by what they have seen and hope this technology will soon begin to offer better outcomes for patients undergoing radiotherapy for prostate cancer.
News Release 14-02-2022 University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences