Introduction Over 200,000 men are expected to have been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014. Approximately one-third will undergo radical prostatectomy and one-third of these men will have a positive margin. Another 10% are likely to have seminal vesicle invasion.…
Introduction Particle beam therapy exploits subatomic particles with mass rather than X-rays or gamma rays to deliver radiation dose. It has gained increasing interest, development, and application due to its physical and radiobiologic properties. The physical property allows for precise…
Introduction External beam radiotherapy has been accepted as a nonsurgical means of curative treatment for localized prostate cancer since the 1950s and 1960s, coinciding with the advent of cobalt and megavoltage X-ray units that allowed for sufficient energy deposition in…
Introduction Patients with localized (i.e., T1–T2) prostate cancer (PCa) have better outcomes if there is local tumor control, even in the presence of high-risk features (e.g., prostate-specific antigen, PSA >20 ng/mL; Gleason score, GS 8–10). Treatment options for localized PCa…
Introduction External beam radiation therapy (EBRT) is an effective primary treatment for patients with nonmetastatic prostate cancer, and is often used together with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in patients with aggressive (intermediate- or high-risk) disease. A large number of randomized…
Introduction Radiation therapy was used to fight cancer within a few years of the discovery of X-rays in 1895. By 1902, Emil Grubbe had published an article outlining the conclusions from his own experience and that of dozens of writers…
Introduction Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common solid organ malignancy in men with over 200,000 new cases diagnosed each year. The long life expectancy of most men diagnosed with PCa has led to a burgeoning prevalence of the disease.…
Introduction Bladder neck contracture (BNC) is an infrequent but commonly recognized complication encountered by the urologist in patients following prostate surgery. While the number of patients seeking surgery or radiation therapy for prostate cancer has increased in the prostate-specific antigen…
Introduction Cancer staging criteria are designed to characterize the extent of a tumor and the burden of disease. Staging criteria serve several purposes, including defining patient prognosis, helping to determine appropriate treatment, facilitating the exchange of information among treatment centers,…
Introduction Prior to the advent of robotics, a consensus panel of expert urologic surgeons judged laparoscopic radical prostatectomy to be “extremely difficult,” and the highest level of urologic surgical complexity in their ranking system. The robotic approach has certainly facilitated…