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Why it's done
By Mayo Clinic staffYour doctor may recommend external beam radiation for prostate cancer as an option at different times during your cancer treatment and for different reasons, including:
- As the only (primary) treatment for cancer, usually for early-stage cancer that is confined to your prostate
- In combination with other treatments, such as hormone therapy, for more serious cancer that's still confined to your prostate
- After surgery, to reduce the risk of cancer returning (adjuvant therapy)
- After surgery, when there is indication that your cancer has recurred either in the form of increased levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in your blood or clinical evidence of cancer in your pelvis.
- To alleviate symptoms, such as bone pain, caused by advanced cancer that has spread beyond the prostate
References
- External beam therapy (EBT). Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=ebt. Accessed March 4, 2013.
- DiBiase SJ, et al. External beam radiation therapy for localized prostate cancer. http://www.uptodate.com/home/. Accessed March 5, 2013.
- Cozzarini C. Low-dose-rate brachytherapy, radical prostatectomy, or external-beam radiation therapy for localised prostate carcinoma: The growing dilemma. European Urology. 2011;60:894.
- Prostate cancer. American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/cancer/prostatecancer/detailedguide/index. Accessed March 4, 2013.
- Tanagho EA, et al. Smith's General Urology. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=21. Accessed March 5, 2013.
- Radiation therapy. Prostate Cancer Foundation. http://www.pcf.org/site/c.leJRIROrEpH/b.5813857/k.AACD/Radiation_Therapy. htm. Accessed Dec. 8, 2010.
- Wong WW (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. March 6, 2013.
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