Conditional risks of biochemical failure and prostate cancer-specific death in patients undergoing external beam radiotherapy

As patients achieve years of survival after treatment for prostate cancer, the risk of biochemical failure (BF) of prostate cancer-specific death (PCSD) may evolve over time. A pooled secondary analysis of two randomized clinical trials of 2591 patients treated with external beam radiotherapy alone for low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer found that in the years after completion of therapy, the patients were at an increasing risk of BF and PCSD. The authors conclude that these results suggest that patients should be counseled on the long-term risk risk of BF and PCSD.