Short Course Radiation Therapy

Treatment optionsRobert Zlotecki, MD, PhD, UF Radiation Oncology Professor, Vice Chair of Clinical Affairs, and Medical Director, and Assistant Professor Kathryn E. Hitchcock, MD, PhD, offer a four-week short course radiation therapy regimen at the UF Davis Cancer Pavilion for patients with low to favorable intermediate risk prostate cancer.

Radiation therapy for prostate cancer typically administers some 39 – 42 treatments over the course of eight to nine weeks. During short course radiation therapy, eligible patients will receive a course of 20 daily treatment fractions over four weeks. Precision Image Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT) will be delivered utilizing permanent fiducial markers as well as hydrogel spacing system for additional protection critical normal healthy tissues. Patients should be candidates for the hydrogel system.

Short course radiation therapy cuts the course of treatment nearly in half, making it more convenient for patients, especially those traveling from a distance.

“Moderate hypofractionation (Short Course Radiotherapy) holds important potential advantages for patient convenience and resource utilization. Based on this high-quality evidence, task force consensus was reached that moderately hypo-fractionated radiation therapy should be offered to patients who choose EBRT for treatment of prostate cancer.”   

–The ASTRO, ASCO, and AUA Evidence-Based Guideline Task Force

For information, contact the UF Department of Radiation Oncology. Read more about short course radiation therapy in the Executive Summary of an ASTRO, ASCO, and AUA Evidence-Based Guideline here.

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