New Treatment Boosts Survival Time

A new study reports that combining a PSMA-targeted radioligand therapy with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) significantly delays the worsening of prostate cancer in men with oligorecurrent disease. This stage of prostate cancer occurs when the disease returns years after initial treatment but appears as only a few new lesions. While SBRT is a common treatment option, many patients eventually relapse because of microscopic cancer cells that imaging cannot detect.

The addition of radioligand therapy, which delivers radiation directly to prostate cancer cells while reducing damage to healthy tissue, appears to address some of this hidden disease. According to the findings, men who received the combination therapy remained free from disease progression for a median of 17.6 months, compared with just 7.4 months for those treated with SBRT alone. This improvement more than doubled progression-free survival and reduced the risk of cancer returning, the need for hormone therapy, or death by 63%.

Importantly, delaying the start of hormone therapy—which is often required when prostate cancer recurs—provides meaningful benefits for patients. Hormonal treatments can cause significant side effects, including fatigue, bone loss, and decreased quality of life. By extending the time before such therapies become necessary, the new treatment strategy may help patients maintain better overall wellbeing for longer.

Despite the promising results, 64% of men in the combination-therapy group still experienced disease progression. This highlights the ongoing challenge posed by microscopic cancer cells and underscores the need for continued research to further improve outcomes in recurrent prostate cancer.A new study reports that combining a PSMA-targeted radioligand therapy with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) significantly delays the worsening of prostate cancer in men with oligorecurrent disease. This stage of prostate cancer occurs when the disease returns years after initial treatment but appears as only a few new lesions. While SBRT is a common treatment option, many patients eventually relapse because of microscopic cancer cells that imaging cannot detect.

The addition of radioligand therapy, which delivers radiation directly to prostate cancer cells while reducing damage to healthy tissue, appears to address some of this hidden disease. According to the findings, men who received the combination therapy remained free from disease progression for a median of 17.6 months, compared with just 7.4 months for those treated with SBRT alone. This improvement more than doubled progression-free survival and reduced the risk of cancer returning, the need for hormone therapy, or death by 63%.

Importantly, delaying the start of hormone therapy—which is often required when prostate cancer recurs—provides meaningful benefits for patients. Hormonal treatments can cause significant side effects, including fatigue, bone loss, and decreased quality of life. By extending the time before such therapies become necessary, the new treatment strategy may help patients maintain better overall wellbeing for longer.

Despite the promising results, 64% of men in the combination-therapy group still experienced disease progression. This highlights the ongoing challenge posed by microscopic cancer cells and underscores the need for continued research to further improve outcomes in recurrent prostate cancer.

MacKenzie, M. (2025, November 13). New Therapy Effective in Delaying Worsening of Prostate Cancer. HPN Online. Retrieved from https://www.hpnonline.com/surgical-critical-care/news/55330110/new-therapy-effective-in-delaying-worsening-of-prostate-cancer