# SWOG 8794

Source: https://onco.cc/trials/swog-8794/  
OnCo record `swog-8794` (Trial). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The trial that first showed radiotherapy soon after prostate surgery reduces the risk of the cancer spreading and helps men live longer, in an era before PSA was used to trigger treatment.

## Summary

SWOG 8794 randomised 431 men with pT3N0M0 prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy to 60 to 64 Gy adjuvant radiotherapy or observation; 425 were eligible, 211 observed and 214 irradiated. Seventy men under observation eventually received radiotherapy anyway.

Metastasis-free survival was significantly better with adjuvant radiotherapy: 93 of 214 events against 114 of 211, hazard ratio 0.71 (95 percent confidence interval 0.54 to 0.94, p=0.016). Overall survival also improved: 88 deaths of 214 against 110 of 211, hazard ratio 0.72 (0.55 to 0.96, p=0.023).

SWOG 8794 and EORTC 22911 together made adjuvant radiotherapy standard after an adverse-pathology prostatectomy for more than a decade. What they did not test is the comparison that matters now, adjuvant radiotherapy against early salvage radiotherapy triggered by a rising PSA, and when RADICALS-RT, RAVES and GETUG-AFU 17 did test it, early salvage won on toxicity without losing control. Their result stands; the question moved.

## Fields

- Kind: Trial
- Status: positive
- Last checked: 2026-09-25
- Also known as: SWOG 8794; SWOG S8794
- Phase: 3
- Setting: pT3N0M0 prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy: 60 to 64 Gy adjuvant radiotherapy against observation, with metastasis-free survival as the primary endpoint
- Sponsor: SWOG Cancer Research Network, funded by the National Cancer Institute
- Enrolled: 431
- Result: Metastasis-free survival hazard ratio 0.71 (95 percent confidence interval 0.54 to 0.94, p=0.016) and overall survival hazard ratio 0.72 (0.55 to 0.96, p=0.023) with adjuvant radiotherapy after prostatectomy for pT3N0M0 disease.
- Outcomes: Metastasis-free survival: Adjuvant radiotherapy 93 events vs Observation 114 events, HR 0.71; Overall survival: Adjuvant radiotherapy 88 deaths vs Observation 110 deaths, HR 0.72
- Replication: EORTC 22911 (1,005 men) confirmed the biochemical progression-free survival benefit at a median 10.6 years but did not sustain a clinical progression-free survival benefit; the ARTISTIC meta-analysis of 2,153 men found no advantage for adjuvant over early salvage radiotherapy.

## Sources

- SWOG 8794 long-term follow-up (Journal of Urology 2009): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2008.11.032

## Connected records

- cancers: [Biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/prostate-bcr/), [Localised prostate cancer, high and very high risk](https://onco.cc/cancers/prostate-high-risk/), [Prostate cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/prostate/)
- technologies: [IMRT / IGRT (modern external beam)](https://onco.cc/technologies/imrt-igrt/)
- companies: [SWOG Cancer Research Network](https://onco.cc/companies/swog/)
- terms: [Biochemical recurrence (BCR)](https://onco.cc/terms/biochemical-recurrence/), [Neoadjuvant / adjuvant / perioperative](https://onco.cc/terms/neoadjuvant-adjuvant/), [Radical prostatectomy](https://onco.cc/terms/prostatectomy/), [Salvage therapy](https://onco.cc/terms/salvage-therapy/)
- trials: [ARTISTIC meta-analysis](https://onco.cc/trials/artistic-meta-analysis/), [EORTC 22911](https://onco.cc/trials/eortc-22911/), [RADICALS-RT](https://onco.cc/trials/radicals-rt/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/swog-8794.json