Missed prostate cancer treatments up risk

Los Angeles -- Men who miss more than two radiation treatments in an eight-week treatment face an increased chance of their cancer recurring, a U.S. study found.

Researchers at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia analyzed 15 years of data of 1,796 men with prostate cancer treated with external beam radiation from 1989 to 2004.

The men with prostate cancer were divided into three groups: low risk, intermediate risk and high risk.

Study leader Dr. David J. D'Ambrosio said the findings show that when men with low-risk prostate cancer miss more than two treatment days over eight weeks, their risk of the cancer recurring increased.

"This highlights the importance of finishing treatment without breaks, once it has begun," D'Ambrosio said in a statement.

In this study, for men with high- and intermediate-risk cancers, two days of missed treatment didn't seem to have as great an impact but despite this, treatment breaks are discouraged, D'Ambrosio added.

The study results were presented at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology’s 49th annual meeting in Los Angeles.

© 2007 United Press International.