Current status of radiation therapy for prostate cancer

Radiotherapy for the treatment of prostate cancer has been extensively explored in the past. Along with the comprehensive understanding of the biology of prostate cancer and rapid advances in terms of technology, the outcome of treatment for the patients with prostate cancer has improved. The authors review radiotherapy as the primary treatment for the disease, with particular emphasis on the technological advances from both the radiobiological and radiophysics aspects. Nonconventional fractionated irradiation like hyper- or hypo-fractionation has been implemented in the clinic, the final results still need to be confirmed in the future. Technological advances like IMRT, IGRT, in the last two decades have significantly improved the delivery of external radiotherapy to the prostate. This has resulted in an overall increase in the total dose that can be safely delivered to the prostate, which has led to modest improvements in the biochemical outcome. However, establishing the standard therapy for prostate cancer remains controversial. It is hoped that the next decades will bring continued advances in the development of biologicals that will further improve current clinical outcomes.