Radiotherapy Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Radiotherapy, including details on cancer treatment, side effects. | ||||||||
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Penile bulb dose and impotence after three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy for prostate cancer on RTOG 9406: findings from a prospective, multi-institutional, phase I/II dose-escalation study.Roach M, Winter K, Michalski JM, Cox JD, Purdy JA, Bosch W, Lin X, Shipley WS University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. roach@radonc17.ucsf.edu PURPOSE: To assess the relationship between the dose to the bulb of the penis and the risk of impotence in men treated on Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 9406. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Men enrolled on a Phase I/II dose-escalation study, RTOG 9406, who were reported to be potent at entry and evaluable (n = 158) were selected for inclusion. Follow-up evaluations were scheduled every 3, 4, and 6 months for the first, second, and the third through fifth years, then annually. At each follow-up visit an assessment of potency status was made. Penile structures were defined by a single observer blinded to the potency status, using Web-based, on-line software. The dosimetry for penile structures was calculated at the Quality Assurance Center at Washington University and provided to RTOG Statistical Headquarters to determine whether there was a relationship between dose and impotence. RESULTS: Patients whose median penile dose was > or = 52.5 Gy had a greater risk of impotence compared with those receiving <52.5 Gy (p = 0.039). In a multivariate analysis neither age, the dose to the prostate, nor the use of hormonal therapy correlated with the risk of impotence. CONCLUSIONS: Dose to the bulb of the penis seems to be associated with the risk of radiation-induced impotence. Published 13 December 2004 in Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys, 60(5): 1351-6.
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