New studies showing prostate cancer treatment can safely involve far less radiotherapy could revolutionise the way the condition is treated.

A major international study published last week found that the number of radiotherapy doses required can be safely cut by three-quarters.

It means men can be effectively treated with just five radiotherapy doses – down from the 20 doctors are currently administering.

The trial involved 900 men with medium-risk prostate cancer that had not spread – including a small number of patients in Ireland.

It found that, after five years, 96% of men who received higher radiotherapy doses were cancer-free, compared to 95% of men who received at least 20 standard doses.

On The Pat Kenny Show this morning, Consultant Urologist David Galvin said patients used to receive 37 doses, meaning they will now have to sit over eight times fewer sessions.

He said it is all about more powerful radiation, more accurately directed.

“More accurately directed with hopefully less side effects and less damage to the surrounding structures,” he said.

“What they're doing is, they're giving greater amounts on each visit. So, before you had to have very small amounts, over 37 visits, now you're getting a higher dose over five visits."

He said each of the five sessions should take something in order of 10 to 20 minutes.

Prostate cancer

Mr Galvin said prostate cancer is now being diagnosed earlier and earlier in Ireland – giving people a better chance at survival.

“We're catching the disease that bit earlier when it's more curative and the key to that is that widespread use of the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test,” he said.

“We did a study there capturing all the patients across Ireland from 2015 to 2020 called the IPCOR (Irish Prostate Cancer Outcomes Research) study - 6800 men and 3% of men over the last number of years uh would fall into the under-50 age group.

"About one-third of cancers are actually diagnosed in men under the age of 60, and the average age now is about 65 in Ireland, so it's actually got a lot younger.”

Jonathan Molloy. Image: Irish Cancer Society

Also on the show, prostate cancer survivor Jonathan Molloy told Pat about his journey from diagnosis to treatment.

He said he was just coming up to his 45th birthday when he went in for some blood tests and the nurse asked him if he would like to sit the PSA.

He said his first test came back with a high reading and the weeks spent waiting for the results of the further tests were filled with worry and anxiety.

A weight off the shoulders

It was only when he finally sat down with his consultant who told him, ‘You have cancer and this is what we’re going to do’ that a ‘weight lifted off’ his shoulders.

“You know, there was a reassurance," he said.

“You put your faith into somebody of his calibre – a medical professional who, you know, has years of experience.

“He laid out the options - somebody my age, you know, there's a number of different options depending on your age and depending on how much of a growth there is – so, he laid all of the options out for me and he just said look … there is this and there is that and this is what you could do.”

He said he is now “out the other side and healthy” and finally feels like he has his whole life ahead of him.

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