Toxicity Reduced With MRI-Guided Radiotherapy for Prostate Cancer

MONDAY, July 24, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with prostate cancer, magnetic resonance‐guided daily adaptive stereotactic body radiotherapy (MRg-A-SBRT) is associated with reduced toxicity compared with computed tomography‐guided nonadaptive prostate SBRT (CT-SBRT), according to a systematic review and meta‐analysis published online July 24 in Cancer.

Jonathan E. Leeman, M.D., from the Dana‐Farber Cancer Institute/Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis to compare acute toxicity rates associated with MRg‐A‐SBRT and CT‐SBRT for prostate cancer. A total of 29 prospective studies, with 2,547 patients, met the inclusion criteria.

The researchers found that the pooled estimates for acute grade 2 or higher (G2+) genitourinary and gastrointestinal toxicity were 16 and 4 percent, respectively, for MRg-A-SBRT, compared with 28 and 9 percent, respectively, for CT-SBRT. The odds ratios for acute G2+ genitourinary and gastrointestinal toxicities comparing MRg-A-SBRT and CT-SBRT were 0.56 and 0.40, respectively, on meta-regression.

"Because there are multiple technical differences between these approaches, further prospective investigation is needed to pinpoint the specific underlying causes, and in particular the role of daily adaptive planning," the authors write. "Whether late toxicity and cancer control rates differ with the use of MRg‐A‐SBRT compared to CT‐SBRT will require longer follow‐up to determine."

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

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