How does SBRT compare to other prostate cancer treatments?

SBRT is one of many treatment options for cancer that's only in the prostate. Other treatments might include surgery to remove the prostate, called prostatectomy, and other kinds of radiation therapy. As you and your healthcare team talk about your treatment options, here are some things to consider:

SBRT compared with surgery. SBRT doesn't involve surgery, as prostatectomy does. Recovering from surgery can take a few weeks or more. Surgery is more likely to cause loss of bladder control and erectile dysfunction. SBRT and other forms of radiation are more likely to cause bowel symptoms.

Few studies have compared SBRT and surgery. In general, studies show surgery and radiation therapy have similar long-term success rates.

SBRT compared with IMRT. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is a way of doing radiation therapy that carefully shapes the energy beams to match the shape of the cancer. It's typically given in daily treatments over several weeks. This longer treatment schedule may interfere with work or other commitments.

Compared with doing radiation treatments in smaller doses over a longer period of time, such as with IMRT, SBRT is slightly more likely to cause urinary and bowel side effects during and soon after treatment. But these usually get better. Two years after treatment, side effects are about the same.

Studies show IMRT and SBRT have similar success rates.

SBRT compared with proton therapy. Proton therapy is a radiation treatment that uses energy from positively charged particles, called protons. It's typically given in daily treatments over several weeks. Some medical centers also offer SBRT using proton therapy. Proton therapy isn't available at all medical centers, so it may require traveling farther from home.

The energy from protons allows healthcare professionals to better control where the radiation goes. In theory, this should lead to fewer side effects. But research on this has had mixed results. The side effects from proton therapy are about the same as with other kinds of radiation therapy.

Proton therapy and other forms of radiation therapy are thought to have similar success rates.