EORTC 22863: improved survival with radiotherapy plus goserelin in locally advanced prostate cancer
Adding three years of hormone therapy to radiotherapy for locally advanced prostate cancer improved five-year survival from 62 to 79 percent, establishing long-term androgen deprivation with radiotherapy as the standard for high-risk disease.
Overview
Phase 3 trial of 415 men with locally advanced (T3 to T4 or high-grade T1 to T2) prostate cancer randomised to external beam radiotherapy alone or with goserelin started at the beginning of radiotherapy and continued for three years.
Five-year overall survival was 79 versus 62 percent and disease-free survival 85 versus 48 percent; ten-year follow-up confirmed a persistent survival benefit (58.1 versus 39.8 percent).
- Five-year overall survival 79 percent vs 62 percent.
- Ten-year overall survival 58.1 percent vs 39.8 percent.
Long-term androgen deprivation (18 to 36 months) with radiotherapy remains the backbone for high-risk localised prostate cancer, to which abiraterone is now added for the highest-risk men.
- Radiotherapy doses were lower than modern standards.
- Optimal duration of hormone therapy was refined by later trials (EORTC 22961, DART 01/05).