Dr. Parker on the Results of the RADICALS-RT Trial in Prostate Cancer

Chris Parker, MD, consultant clinical oncologist, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, discusses the results of the phase III RADICALS-RT trial in prostate cancer.

Historically, the optimal timing of radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy had not been well defined. To this end, investigators compared the efficacy of adjuvant radiotherapy versus observation and salvage radiotherapy in 1,396 patients who had undergone radical prostatectomy and had high-risk disease and rising prostate-specific antigen, respectively.

At a median follow-up of 5 years, the rate of biochemical progression-free survival was 85% versus 88% in the adjuvant and salvage radiotherapy arms, respectively (HR, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.81-1.49; P =.56). However, the 1-year rate of self-reported urinary incontinence was 5.3% and 2.7% in the adjuvant and salvage radiotherapy arms, respectively, suggesting that observation and salvage radiotherapy should be the standard approach, concludes Parker.