title: Hypofractionated radiation therapy versus conventional radiation therapy in prostate cancer: A systematic review of its safety and efficacy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  New therapeutic alternatives can improve the safety and efficacy of prostate cancer treatment.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether hypofractionated radiation therapy results in better safety and efficacy in the treatment of prostate cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Systematic review of the literature through searches on PubMed, Cochrane Library, CRD, ClinicalTrials and EuroScan, collecting indicators of safety and efficacy.
  We included 2 systematic reviews and a clinical trial. In terms of efficacy, there is considerable heterogeneity among the studies, and no conclusive results were found concerning the superiority of the hypofractionated option over the normal fractionated option. In terms of safety, there were no significant differences in the onset of acute genitourinary complications between the 2 treatments. However, one of the reviews found more acute gastrointestinal complications in patients treated with hypofractionated radiation therapy. There were no significant differences in long-term complications based on the type of radiation therapy used, although the studies did have limitations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To date, there are no conclusive results that show that hypofractionated radiation therapy is more effective or safer than normal fractionated radiation therapy in the treatment of localized prostate cancer.
authors: Agencia de Evaluación de Tecnologías Sanitarias (AETS), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Madrid, España; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Hospital Universitario de La Princesa (IP), Madrid, España; Red de Investigación en Servicios de Salud en Enfermedades Crónicas (REDISSEC), España. Electronic address: luism.sanchez@isciii.es.
authors: L M
authors: LM
authors: Sánchez-Gómez
authors: Agencia de Evaluación de Tecnologías Sanitarias (AETS), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Madrid, España.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Polo-deSantos
authors: Servicio de Oncología Radioterápica, Hospital Universitario de Gran Canaria Dr. Negrín, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, España.
authors: J I
authors: JI
authors: Rodríguez-Melcón
authors: Servicio de Urología, Hospital Universitario de Getafe, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, España.
authors: J C
authors: JC
authors: Angulo
authors: Agencia de Evaluación de Tecnologías Sanitarias (AETS), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Madrid, España.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Luengo-Matos
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D019583:Dose Fractionation, Radiation; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D052801:Male Urogenital Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D058958:Organs at Risk; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Cáncer de próstata; Hipofraccionamiento; Hypofractionation; Prostate cancer; Radiation therapy; Radioterapia; Revisión sistemática; Systematic Review