title: Dose-escalated salvage radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy in high risk prostate cancer patients without hormone therapy: outcome, prognostic factors and late toxicity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Evaluation of dose escalated salvage radiotherapy (SRT) in patients after radical prostatectomy (RP) who had never received antihormonal therapy. To investigate prognostic factors of the outcome of SRT and to analyze which patient subsets benefit most from dose escalation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between 2002 and 2008, 76 patients were treated in three different dose-groups: an earlier cohort treated with 66 Gy irrespective of pre-RT-characteristics and two later cohorts treated with 70 Gy or 75 Gy depending on pre-RT-characteristics. Biochemical-relapse-free-survival (bRFS), clinical-relapse-free-survival (cRFS) and late toxicity were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four-year bRFS and cRFS were 62.5% and 85%. Gleason score <8, positive surgical resection margin (PSRM) and low PSA (≤0.5 ng/ml) before SRT resulted in higher bRFS. Analysis of the whole group showed no clear dose-outcome relationship. Patients with PSRM, however, had improved bRFS when escalating >66 Gy. While > 70 Gy did not improve the overall results, 4-year bRFS for patients with manifest local recurrence in the high-dose group was still comparable to those without manifest local recurrences. No grade 4 and minimal grade 3 gastrointestinal and urinary toxicity were observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dose-escalated SRT achieves high biochemical control. The data strongly support the application of at least 70 Gy rather than 66 Gy. They do not prove positive effects of doses >70 Gy but do not disprove them as these doses were only applied to an unfavorable patients selection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University Medical Center Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany. mohamed.shelan@googlemail.com.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shelan
authors.forename: Yasser
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Abo-Madyan
authors.forename: Grit
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Welzel
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bolenz
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kosakowski
authors.forename: Nadim
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Behnam
authors.forename: Frederik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wenz
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lohr
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000532:radiotherapy; D011379:Prognosis; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000379:methods*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery*; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D012008:Recurrence; D016879:Salvage Therapy / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome