Docs tending away from post-prostatectomy adjuvant RT

(HealthDay)—Compared with 2012, in 2015 urologists based in Australia were less favorable toward adjuvant radiotherapy for men with high-risk pathologic features post-prostatectomy, according to a study published online June 27 in the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology.

Bernadette Brown, from the Sax Institute in New South Wales, Australia, and colleagues conducted a nationwide survey of Australia-based urologist members of the Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand regarding attitudes relating to guideline-recommended adjuvant radiotherapy for men with adverse pathologic features after radical prostatectomy. The 2015 survey was completed by 96 respondents (30 percent response rate), while the 2012 survey was completed by 157 respondents (45 percent response rate).

The researchers found that there was no significant change in the awareness of national clinical practice guidelines for prostate cancer management. For two of three hypothetical clinical case scenarios with high 10-year risk of biochemical relapse, urologists were significantly less favorable toward adjuvant radiotherapy in 2015 than in 2012. For men with locally advanced prostate cancer, in 2015 urologists were less positive overall toward the recommendation for postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy than in 2012. In 2015, compared with 2012, urologists felt that other urologists would be critical if they routinely referred the target patient group for radiotherapy.

"We could find no new published research that precipitated this change in attitude," the authors write.

Copyright © 2016 HealthDay. All rights reserved.