Dr. Yu on the Significance of the PROTECT Study in Prostate Cancer

James B. Yu, MD, associate professor, therapeutic oncology, director, Prostate and Genitourinary Cancer Radiotherapy Program, Yale Cancer Center, discusses the significance of the PROTECT study results in prostate cancer.

The 10-year outcomes of a study monitoring, surgery, or radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer were published in the New England Journal of Medicine this past year, which compared active surveillance, radical prostatectomy, and external-beam radiotherapy.

Much of the focus of these results have been on the small survival difference between active surveillance and local therapy, says Yu. But, the quality- of-life data is what is interesting about this trial, Yu says, with patients experiencing better genitourinary and sexual function with 6 months of radiotherapy versus surgery.