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During the past 2 decades, technologic advancements using computed tomography (CT) imaging have enabled more-accurate delivery of radiation (as photon or proton beams) to tumor tissue in prostate cancer patients. These CT-guided delivery techniques — known as conformal therapy — help minimize radiation exposure in normal tissue, potentially allowing for the safe delivery of high-dose radiation.
To test whether high-dose radiation can safely provide better tumor control, investigators randomized 393 men with early-stage prostate cancer (T1b-T2b and prostate-specific antigen [PSA] levels ≤15 ng/mL) to receive conformal photon therapy plus proton-beam boost therapy at total doses of either 70.2 Gy (conventional-dose radiation) or 79.2 Gy (high-…