title: Adjuvant vs. salvage radiotherapy for pathologically advanced prostate cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This article considers the efficacy and toxicity of postoperative radiotherapy to the prostate bed after radical prostatectomy. It has a particular focus on the debate concerning the optimum timing of postoperative radiotherapy: adjuvant treatment for all high-risk cases vs. salvage treatment at the time of prostate-specific antigen relapse.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Postoperative radiotherapy has been shown, in a mature randomized trial, to improve overall survival after radical prostatectomy. Randomized trials have also provided good data on the morbidity of postoperative radiotherapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Postoperative radiotherapy improves survival in patients with high-risk pathological features at radical prostatectomy at the cost of moderate urinary and bowel toxicity. The optimum timing of postoperative radiotherapy, and in particular the relative merits of adjuvant vs. salvage radiotherapy, remains uncertain.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cancer Research, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Sutton, Surrey, UK.
authors.forename: Gerard P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: McVey
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Parker
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011468:Prostatectomy; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery*; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000379:methods; D016879:Salvage Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome