title: Recurrent prostate cancer: the role of salvage postoperative external radiotherapy in low risk patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to present the Ioannina Radiation Therapy Department experience in the treatment of postoperative recurrent prostate cancer with postoperative external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) in initially low-risk patients for recurrence.
  
  
  METHODS
  The medical records of all patients who underwent salvage postoperative EBRT for either biochemical or clinical local recurrence were reviewed. Primary endpoints were the incidence of clinical and biochemical recurrences, metastases and death.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 11 patients with biochemical recurrence were included. Four of them had clinical local recurrence as well. Postoperatively, all patients had pT1-T2N0M0 stage and therefore had low risk for recurrence. However, they were admitted for EBRT with recurrent disease with a mean pre-RT prostatic specific antigen (PSA) of 10 ng/ml. The daily dose of radiotherapy (RT) was 1.8 to 2.0 Gy and the median total dose was 64.8 Gy. All of the patients but one achieved PSA nadir value (<0.5 ng/ml) after RT. With a median follow up of 21 months (range 9-42 months), 5 (45.5%) patients had biochemical failure, 2 (18.18%) developed clinical local recurrence, one (9.1%) developed bone metastases and 2 (18.18%) died. No serious long-term toxicity was observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite the small sample size of our study that precluded any further analyses on prognostic factors affecting outcomes after salvage EBRT, we achieved satisfactory results regarding local control of disease, metastases and survival.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Therapy, University Hospital of Ioannina, School of Medicine, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
authors.forename: E E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Pakos
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Tsekeris
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Briasoulis