Late gastrointestinal and urogenital side-effects after radiotherapy - Incidence and prevalence. Subgroup-analysis within the prospective Austrian-German phase II multicenter trial for localized prostate cancer

This study demonstrates that the majority of late GI and GU side effects after primary external beam radiotherapy for prostate cancer are transient. Using only actuarial incidence rates for reporting side effects may lead to misinterpretation or overestimation. The combination of incidence and prevalence rates provides a more comprehensive view on the complex issue of late side effects.