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Review
. 2017 Apr;19(4):30.
doi: 10.1007/s11912-017-0584-7.

The Role of Hypofractionated Radiotherapy in Prostate Cancer

Linus C Benjamin  1 , Alison C Tree  1   2 , David P Dearnaley  3   4
Affiliations
Review

The Role of Hypofractionated Radiotherapy in Prostate Cancer

Linus C Benjamin et al. Curr Oncol Rep. 2017 Apr.

Abstract

Purpose of review: It is now accepted that prostate cancer has a low alpha/beta ratio, establishing a strong basis for hypofractionation of prostate radiotherapy. This review focuses on the rationale for hypofractionation and presents the evidence base for establishing moderate hypofractionation for localised disease as the new standard of care. The emerging evidence for extreme hypofractionation in managing localized and oligometastatic prostate cancer is reviewed.

Recent findings: The 5-year efficacy and toxicity outcomes from four phase III studies have been published within the last 12 months. These studies randomizing over 6000 patients to conventional fractionation (1.8-2.0 Gy per fraction) or moderate hypofractionation (3.0-3.4 Gy per fraction). They demonstrate hypofractionation to be non-inferior to conventional fractionation. Moderate hypofractionation for localized prostate cancer is safe and effective. There is a growing body of evidence in support of extreme hypofractionation for localized prostate cancer. Extreme hypofractionation may have a role in managing prostate oligometastases, but further studies are needed.

Keywords: CHHiP; HYPRO; Hypofractionation; Prostate cancer; Radiotherapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

Linus C. Benjamin declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Alison Tree has received support through grants from Accuray and Elekta, and has received travel assistance for meetings from Elekta.

David P. Dearnaley declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Treatment plan and dose statistics for prostate SBRT with a non-coplanar technique. (Acknowledgement: Dr Nicholas van As, Kirsty Morrison, Royal Marsden Hospital, UK)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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