[ RadSafe ] Chemo vs. Radiation for Testicular Cancer

[Stabin, Michael]

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Chemo vs. Radiation for Testicular Cancer
FoxNews, Thursday, July 21, 2005

New research shows that a single dose of chemotherapy may be as
effective as and less draining than radiation for testicular cancer. ...
[The] study included 1,477 patients from 70 hospitals in 14 countries.
All had early testicular stage I cancer called seminoma - one of the two
most common types of testicular cancer. The men were 38 years old. All
of the men first got surgery to remove the affected testicle. Then, 885
men got radiation. The rest got one intravenous dose of the chemo drug
carboplatin. Surgery followed by radiation has been the standard
treatment for the condition for nearly 50 years. The strategy is highly
effective, with overall cure rates approaching 100%, write the
researchers. But, long-term effects of radiation have been seen in some
men years down the road, including other cancers and heart disease.

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I know that the new BEIR report shows some relationships between
radiation and certain forms of noncancer morbidity. Heart disease after
surgery and localized radiation treatment for testicular cancer puzzles
me a bit though. Is this purportedly just due to the stress of the
procedure? Knowing what I know about the stressfulness of chemotherapy,
I would be very surprised if it would be less stressful on the overall
system than this kind of localized radiation treatment. Comments?


Mike

Michael G. Stabin, PhD, CHP
Assistant Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences 
Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences 
Vanderbilt University 
1161 21st Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37232-2675 
Phone (615) 343-0068
Fax   (615) 322-3764
Pager (615) 835-5153
e-mail     michael.g.stabin at vanderbilt.edu 
internet   www.doseinfo-radar.com