Also known as radiotherapy, radiation therapy uses a controlled dose of radiation to kill or damage cancer cells so they cannot grow, multiply or spread.
Learn more about:
- When is radiation therapy given?
- External beam radiation therapy (EBRT)
- Brachytherapy
- Side effects of radiation therapy
- Video: What is radiation therapy?
When is radiation therapy given?
Radiation therapy may be used:
- for localised or locally advanced prostate cancer – it has similar rates of success to surgery in controlling prostate cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes
- if you are not well enough for surgery or are older
- after a radical prostatectomy for locally advanced disease, if there are signs of cancer left behind or the cancer has returned where the prostate used to be
- for prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body
- for intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer, it is often combined with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT).
There are 2 main ways of delivering radiation therapy:
- from outside the body (external beam radiation therapy)
- from inside the body (brachytherapy).
You may have one of these types of radiation therapy, or you may have a combination of both.
Focal therapy
Focal therapy, also sometimes called ablation or focused therapy, uses high-intensity sound waves or targeted laser beams to target and destroy cancer cells.
This therapy is not a standard part of approved treatment guidelines and whether it works is unproven. Focal therapy may sometimes be offered as part of a clinical trial. Although this is not a new therapy, there have not been enough randomised clinical trials to confirm how well focal therapy works. You can still usually have other treatments afterwards if focal therapy does not work.
→ READ MORE: External beam radiation therapy (EBRT)
Video: What is radiation therapy?
Watch this short video to learn more about radiation therapy.
Podcast: Making Treatment Decisions
Listen to more episodes from our podcast for people affected by cancer
Key resource
Download a PDF booklet on this topic.
More resources
Prof Declan Murphy, Consultant Urologist, Director – Genitourinary Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and The University of Melbourne, VIC; Alan Barlee, Consumer; Dr Patrick Bowden, Radiation Oncologist, Epworth Hospital, Richmond, VIC; Bob Carnaby, Consumer; Dr Megan Crumbaker, Medical Oncologist, St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, NSW; Henry McGregor, Health Physiotherapist, Adelaide Men’s Health Physio, SA; Jessica Medd, Senior Clinical Psychologist, Department of Urology, Concord Repatriation General Hospital and Headway Health, NSW; Dr Gary Morrison, Shine a Light (LGBTQIA+ Cancer Support Group); Caitriona Nienaber, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council WA; Graham Rees, Consumer; Kerry Santoro, Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurse Consultant, Southern Adelaide Local Health Network, SA; Prof Phillip Stricker, Chairman, Department of Urology, St Vincent’s Private Hospital, NSW; Dr Sylvia van Dyk, Brachytherapy Lead, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC.
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