EBRT for Prostate Cancer Hikes Risk of Secondary Cancers

ORLANDO, Fla.—External beam radiation therapy (EBRT) increases the risk of secondary malignancies relative to radical prostatectomy in men with localized prostate cancer, data show.

Naeem Bhojani, MD, of the University of Montreal, and his colleagues studied 10,333 men treated with EBRT (4,137 patients) or radical prostatectomy (6,196 patients) and identified men subsequently diagnosed with secondary malignancies.

They identified 92 bladder cancers, 82 lung cancers, and 228 rectal cancers. After adjusting for age, baseline comorbidities, and year of treatment, EBRT predisposed to a threefold higher rate of bladder cancer and a nearly twofold higher rate of lung and rectal cancer.

“The increased rate of secondary malignancies after EBRT should be considered in localized prostate cancer treatment decision-making,” the authors concluded.