Estimating the impact of randomised control trial results on clinical practice: results from a survey and modelling study of androgen deprivation therapy plus radiotherapy for locally advanced prostate cancer

Background Recent trials have shown that the addition of external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) to androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) improves survival among men with locally advanced prostate cancer. Objective To examine the potential impact of these trials on changes in clinical practice and life-years saved. Design, setting, and participants A model was developed to examine the impact of changes in clinical practice in the UK. A survey of clinicians who treat men with prostate cancer in the UK and Canada was performed. Measurements Outcomes of interest were the proportion of patients treated with different approaches and the predicted number of life-years saved due to changes in clinical practice. Survey data were cross-tabulated and Pearson's χ2 tests were applied. Results and limitations The survey was completed by 193 clinicians (105 from the UK, 80 from Canada), of whom 70% were clinical/radiation oncologists, 8% were medical oncologists, and 15% were urologists. UK respondents were more likely to report a change in practice in response to the results (44% UK vs 21% Canada). Canadians were more likely to have already been using ADT plus radiotherapy (77% Canada vs 56% UK). The increase in the proportion of patients in the UK treated with ADT + EBRT could result in around 3730–5177 extra life-years at 15 yr from a cohort of 7930 men diagnosed in a single calendar year, compared to if all had been treated with ADT alone. Conclusions Trial findings have changed clinical practice, meaning that men with locally advanced prostate cancer are likely to survive longer. Patient summary Doctors in the UK have changed practice in response to evidence on the superiority of hormone therapy plus radiotherapy to hormone therapy alone. These changes will improve the survival of men with locally advanced prostate cancer. Further reductions in the use of hormone therapy alone could further improve survival

Salvage radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy: analysis of toxicity by dose-fractionation in the RADICALS-RT trial

ABSTRACT: Emerging data indicate comparable disease control and toxicity of postoperative normo-fractionation and moderate hypofractionation radiotherapy (RT) in prostate cancer. In RADICALS-RT, patients were planned for treatment with either 66Gy in 33 fractions over 6.5 weeks or 52.5Gy in 20 fractions over 4 weeks. In this non-randomized, exploratory analysis, we explore the toxicity of these two schedules in patients who had adjuvant RT. METHODS: Information on RT dose was collected in all patients. Radiation Therapy Oncology Group toxicity score was recorded every 4 months for 2 years, 6-monthly until 5 years, then annually until 15 years. Patient-reported data were collected at baseline, 1, 5, and 10 years with use of standard questionnaires including Vaizey (bowel) and International Continence Society Male Short-Form (urinary incontinence). The highest grade of event was recorded within the first 2 years, and beyond 2 years, and compared between treatment groups using the χ² test. RESULTS: 217/634 (34%) patients were planned for 52.5Gy/20f and 417/634 (66%) for 66Gy/33f. In the first two years, grade 1 - 2 cystitis was reported more frequently among the 66Gy/33f group (52.5Gy/20f: 20% vs 66Gy/33f: 30%, p=0.04). After two years, grade 1-2 cystitis was reported in 16% in the 66Gy group, and 9% in the 52.5Gy group (p=0.08). Other toxicities were similar in the two groups and very few patients had any grade 3 - 4 toxicity. Patients reported slightly higher urinary and faecal incontinence scores at one year than at baseline, but no clinically meaningful differences were reported between 52.5Gy/20f and 66Gy/33f groups. Patient reported health was similar at baseline and at one year, and similar between 52.5Gy/20f and 66Gy/33f groups. CONCLUSION: Severe toxicity is rare after prostate bed radiotherapy with either 52.5Gy/20f or 66Gy/33f. Only modest differences were recorded in toxicity or in patient reported outcomes between these two schedules

Randomised trial of no, short-term, or long-term androgen deprivation therapy with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy: results from the three-way comparison of RADICALS-HD (NCT00541047)

Background and objective The use and duration of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with postoperative radiotherapy (RT) have been uncertain. RADICALS-HD compared adding no (“None”), 6-months (“Short”), or 24-mo (“Long”) ADT to study efficacy in the long term. Methods Participants with prostate cancer were indicated for postoperative RT and agreed randomisation between all durations. ADT was allocated for 0, 6, or 24 mo. The primary outcome measure (OM) was metastasis-free survival (MFS). The secondary OMs included freedom from distant metastasis, overall survival, and initiation of nonprotocol ADT. Sample size was determined by two-way comparisons. Analyses followed standard time-to-event approaches and intention-to-treat principles. Key findings and limitations Between 2007 and 2015, 492 participants were randomised one of three groups: 166 None, 164 Short, and 162 Long. The median age at randomisation was 66 yr; Gleason scores at surgery were as follows: <7 = 64 (13%), 3+4 = 229 (47%), 4+3 = 127 (26%), and 8+ = 72 (15%); T3b was 112 (23%); and T4 was 5 (1%). The median follow-up was 9.0 yr and, with MFS events reported for 89 participants (32 None, 31 Short, and 26 Long), there was no evidence of difference in MFS overall (logrank p = 0.98), and, for Long versus None, hazard ratio = 0.948 (95% confidence interval 0.54–1.68). After 10 yr, 80% None, 77% Short, and 81% Long patients were alive without metastatic disease. The three-way randomisation was not powered to conventional levels for assessment, yet provides a fair comparison. Conclusions and clinical implications Long-term outcomes after radical prostatectomy are usually favourable. In those indicated for postoperative RT and considered suitable for no, short-term, or long-term ADT, there was no evidence of improvement with addition of ADT. Future research should focus on patients at a higher risk of metastases in whom improvements are required more urgently

Duration of Androgen Deprivation Therapy With Postoperative Radiotherapy for Prostate Cancer: A Comparison of Long-Course Versus Short-Course Androgen Deprivation Therapy in the Radicals-HD Randomised Trial

BACKGROUND: Previous evidence supports androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with primary radiotherapy as initial treatment for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the use and optimal duration of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy remains uncertain. METHODS: RADICALS-HD was a randomised controlled trial of ADT duration within the RADICALS protocol. Here, we report on the comparison of short-course versus long-course ADT. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after previous radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to add 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT) or 24 months of ADT (long-course ADT) to radiotherapy, using subcutaneous gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue (monthly in the short-course ADT group and 3-monthly in the long-course ADT group), daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. The comparison had more than 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 75% to 81% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·72). Standard time-to-event analyses were used. Analyses followed intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00541047. FINDINGS: Between Jan 30, 2008, and July 7, 2015, 1523 patients (median age 65 years, IQR 60-69) were randomly assigned to receive short-course ADT (n=761) or long-course ADT (n=762) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 138 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 8·9 years (7·0-10·0), 313 metastasis-free survival events were reported overall (174 in the short-course ADT group and 139 in the long-course ADT group; HR 0·773 [95% CI 0·612-0·975]; p=0·029). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 71·9% (95% CI 67·6-75·7) in the short-course ADT group and 78·1% (74·2-81·5) in the long-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 105 (14%) of 753 participants in the short-course ADT group and 142 (19%) of 757 participants in the long-course ADT group (p=0·025), with no treatment-related deaths. INTERPRETATION: Compared with adding 6 months of ADT, adding 24 months of ADT improved metastasis-free survival in people receiving postoperative radiotherapy. For individuals who can accept the additional duration of adverse effects, long-course ADT should be offered with postoperative radiotherapy. FUNDING: Cancer Research UK, UK Research and Innovation (formerly Medical Research Council), and Canadian Cancer Society

Adding 6 Months of Androgen Deprivation Therapy to Postoperative Radiotherapy for Prostate Cancer: A Comparison of Short-Course Versus No Androgen Deprivation Therapy in the Radicals-HD Randomised Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND: Previous evidence indicates that adjuvant, short-course androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) improves metastasis-free survival when given with primary radiotherapy for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the value of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy is unclear. METHODS: RADICALS-HD was an international randomised controlled trial to test the efficacy of ADT used in combination with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to radiotherapy alone (no ADT) or radiotherapy with 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT), using monthly subcutaneous gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue injections, daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as distant metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. Standard survival analysis methods were used, accounting for randomisation stratification factors. The trial had 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 80% to 86% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·67). Analyses followed the intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00541047. FINDINGS: Between Nov 22, 2007, and June 29, 2015, 1480 patients (median age 66 years [IQR 61-69]) were randomly assigned to receive no ADT (n=737) or short-course ADT (n=743) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 121 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 9·0 years (IQR 7·1-10·1), metastasis-free survival events were reported for 268 participants (142 in the no ADT group and 126 in the short-course ADT group; HR 0·886 [95% CI 0·688-1·140], p=0·35). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 79·2% (95% CI 75·4-82·5) in the no ADT group and 80·4% (76·6-83·6) in the short-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 121 (17%) of 737 participants in the no ADT group and 100 (14%) of 743 in the short-course ADT group (p=0·15), with no treatment-related deaths. INTERPRETATION: Metastatic disease is uncommon following postoperative bed radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy. Adding 6 months of ADT to this radiotherapy did not improve metastasis-free survival compared with no ADT. These findings do not support the use of short-course ADT with postoperative radiotherapy in this patient population. FUNDING: Cancer Research UK, UK Research and Innovation (formerly Medical Research Council), and Canadian Cancer Society

Adding 6 months of androgen deprivation therapy to postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of short-course versus no androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised controlled trial

Background Previous evidence indicates that adjuvant, short-course androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) improves metastasis-free survival when given with primary radiotherapy for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the value of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy is unclear. Methods RADICALS-HD was an international randomised controlled trial to test the efficacy of ADT used in combination with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to radiotherapy alone (no ADT) or radiotherapy with 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT), using monthly subcutaneous gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue injections, daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as distant metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. Standard survival analysis methods were used, accounting for randomisation stratification factors. The trial had 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 80% to 86% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·67). Analyses followed the intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00541047. Findings Between Nov 22, 2007, and June 29, 2015, 1480 patients (median age 66 years [IQR 61–69]) were randomly assigned to receive no ADT (n=737) or short-course ADT (n=743) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 121 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 9·0 years (IQR 7·1–10·1), metastasis-free survival events were reported for 268 participants (142 in the no ADT group and 126 in the short-course ADT group; HR 0·886 [95% CI 0·688–1·140], p=0·35). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 79·2% (95% CI 75·4–82·5) in the no ADT group and 80·4% (76·6–83·6) in the short-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 121 (17%) of 737 participants in the no ADT group and 100 (14%) of 743 in the short-course ADT group (p=0·15), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Metastatic disease is uncommon following postoperative bed radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy. Adding 6 months of ADT to this radiotherapy did not improve metastasis-free survival compared with no ADT. These findings do not support the use of short-course ADT with postoperative radiotherapy in this patient population

Duration of androgen deprivation therapy with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of long-course versus short-course androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised trial

Background Previous evidence supports androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with primary radiotherapy as initial treatment for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the use and optimal duration of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy remains uncertain. Methods RADICALS-HD was a randomised controlled trial of ADT duration within the RADICALS protocol. Here, we report on the comparison of short-course versus long-course ADT. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after previous radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to add 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT) or 24 months of ADT (long-course ADT) to radiotherapy, using subcutaneous gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue (monthly in the short-course ADT group and 3-monthly in the long-course ADT group), daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. The comparison had more than 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 75% to 81% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·72). Standard time-to-event analyses were used. Analyses followed intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT00541047 . Findings Between Jan 30, 2008, and July 7, 2015, 1523 patients (median age 65 years, IQR 60–69) were randomly assigned to receive short-course ADT (n=761) or long-course ADT (n=762) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 138 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 8·9 years (7·0–10·0), 313 metastasis-free survival events were reported overall (174 in the short-course ADT group and 139 in the long-course ADT group; HR 0·773 [95% CI 0·612–0·975]; p=0·029). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 71·9% (95% CI 67·6–75·7) in the short-course ADT group and 78·1% (74·2–81·5) in the long-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 105 (14%) of 753 participants in the short-course ADT group and 142 (19%) of 757 participants in the long-course ADT group (p=0·025), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Compared with adding 6 months of ADT, adding 24 months of ADT improved metastasis-free survival in people receiving postoperative radiotherapy. For individuals who can accept the additional duration of adverse effects, long-course ADT should be offered with postoperative radiotherapy. Funding Cancer Research UK, UK Research and Innovation (formerly Medical Research Council), and Canadian Cancer Society

Re: Final Report of the Intergroup Randomized Study of Combined AndrogenDeprivation Therapy Plus Radiotherapy Versus Androgen-Deprivation Therapy Alone in Locally Advanced Prostate Cancer

No certain treatment recommendations were given for locally advanced or high-risk prostate cancer in the European Association of Urology (EAU) guidelines (1). In the guidelines, studies supporting surgery or radiotherapy (RT) were listed, and the readers were left alone to make their own decisions. In the present study, Mason et al. reported the impact of adding RT to androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). One thousand two hundred and five patients with T3- 4, N0/Nx, M0 prostate cancer or T1-2 disease with either PSA more than 40 μg/L or PSA 20 to 40 μg/L plus Gleason score of 8 to 10 were randomized to ADT alone (n=602) or to ADT+RT (n=603). A lower dose radiation 64 to 69 Gy was used for RT. Overall survival (OS) risk reduction was 30% for ADT+RT group (P<0.001) at a median follow-up of 8 years. Cancer-specific survival (CSS) was significantly improved by the addition of RT to ADT (HR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.34 to 0.61; p<0.001). Patients on ADT+RT reported a higher frequency of adverse events related to bowel toxicity. However, reported frequency of ADT-related toxicities (impotence, hot flushes, urinary frequency, ischemia, and hypertension) were similar for both arms. The present study provided results of high-risk patients in a longer median follow-up time than SPCG-7 study (2). Because the study took place between 1995 and 2005, less than 70 Gy was used for RT. Even at lower radiation doses, the authors confirmed that adding RT to ADT improved both OS and cancer-specific survival (CSS) with minimal general toxicity. In the modern era, improved RT techniques may help achieve better outcomes with much higher radiation doses without increased morbidity in this group of patient