“Our results illustrate how advanced technology has radically improved our ability to target cancer,” said Meier. “After following patients for more than five years, we found that serious side effects from a brief course of SBRT were uncommon and that cancer control rates were very favorable compared to historical data. Our trial confirms that SBRT may be preferable to other treatment approaches for newly-diagnosed cases of prostate cancer, including more aggressive disease.”

This large study is the latest evidence that SBRT is a growing “best bet” for prostate cancer treatment, as HCB News reported in April.

At that time, a five-year study of SBRT at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center revealed better-than-expected outcomes.

“We were surprised by the 98.6 percent cure rate. We did not expect to have such high numbers at five years,” Dr. Raquibul Hannan, assistant professor of radiation oncology at UT Southwestern Medical Center's Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center in Dallas, and lead author of the study, told HCB News. “We were expecting to find numbers around 90 percent, with the main advantage of maximizing the patient convenience of five treatments compared to the 44 treatments required for conventional radiation therapy.”

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