Radiotherapy for prostate cancer - Does daily image guidance with tighter margins improve patient reported outcomes compared to weekly orthogonal verified irradiation? Results from a randomized controlled trial

摘要

Background: Novel cancer drugs are subject to strict scientific evaluation of safety and efficacy and usually undergo a cost effectiveness analysis before approval for use in clinical practice. For new techniques in radiotherapy (RT) such as image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT), this is often not the case. We performed a randomized controlled trial to compare daily cone beam computer tomography (CBCT) IGRT with reduced planning target volume (PTV) margins vs weekly orthogonal portal imaging with conventional PTV margins. The primary aim of the study was to investigate the effect of two different image guidance techniques on patient reported outcome (PRO) using early side effects as proxy outcome of late rectal side effects in patients receiving curative RT for prostate cancer.