“These results suggest that some patients should be offered hormone therapy after surgery based on how likely it is that their cancer will spread,” said Dr. Shawn MaloneCombining radiation with hormone therapy after prostate removal improved 10-year survival with no prostate cancer spread in some patients, according to the largest trial of its kind. While radiation can prevent and treat prostate cancer recurrence after surgery, it was unclear whether adding hormone therapy would help. 

The RADICALS-HD international pragmatic study involved two trials of 1,500 people who received radiation therapy after prostate removal. One of the trials, published in The Lancet, found two years of hormone therapy increased metastasis-free survival compared to six months of treatment (78 per cent vs 72 per cent). The second trial did not detect a survival benefit between six months of hormone therapy and no therapy, but these findings have been questioned by other trials. 

The Ottawa Hospital site, led by Dr. Shawn Malone, was one of the top recruiting sites in Canada, enrolling 69 patients. 

“These results suggest that some patients should be offered hormone therapy after surgery based on how likely it is that their cancer will spread,” said Dr. Shawn Malone, radiation oncologist and clinician investigator at The Ottawa Hospital, and assistant professor at the University of Ottawa.

Ottawa team members: Shawn Malone, Scott Grimes, Libni Eapen, Choan E, Gad Perry, Scott Morgan, Alain Haddad

Funding: Cancer Research UK, Canadian Cancer Society, UK Research and Innovation, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and the Institute of Cancer Research.

The Ottawa Hospital is a leading academic health, research and learning hospital proudly affiliated with the University of Ottawa and supported by The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.