UCLA Journal of Radiation Oncology_SS 2025_FOR PRINT - Flipbook - Page 28
UCLA RADIATION ONCOLOGY JOURNAL
rate of late toxicity from 12.7% to 22.5%.
at UCLA Health. She covers the clinical cancer program along with
basic and clinical translational research for the UCLA Health Jonsson
Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The odds of having a clinically-signi昀椀cant decline in
urinary quality of life were 1.4 times as high for men who
had moderate acute urinary toxicity. The odds of having
a clinically-signi昀椀cant decline in bowel quality of life were
1.5 times as high for men who had moderate acute bowel
toxicity.
“These results show that acute toxicities following prostate
radiotherapy are associated with late toxicities months
and years later,” said Dr. John Nikitas, a resident in the
Department of Radiation Oncology at UCLA Health, and
昀椀rst author of the study. “This underscores the importance
of measures that reduce the risk of acute toxicities because
they may also potentially improve long-term outcomes and
quality of life for patients.”
Kishan, who is also an investigator at the UCLA Health
Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, emphasized the
potential impact of newer techniques to reduce both acute
and late toxicities.
“Reducing early side e昀昀ects through advanced techniques
like MRI-guided radiation, which allows for more precise
targeting of tumors, and urethral-sparing methods, which
uses spacers between the prostate to protect surrounding
tissues and rectum, could potentially help lower the risk of
lasting side e昀昀ects,” said Kishan.
However, more studies are needed to determine if speci昀椀c
strategies to reduce early side e昀昀ects will improve long-term
outcomes and whether treating short-term side e昀昀ects early
can help prevent long-term complications. ☐
Other UCLA authors are Dr. Michael Steinberg, Dr. Luca Valle,
Dr. Joanne Weidhaas, Parsa Jamshidian, Donatello Telesca and
Tahmineh Romero. The study was supported in part by grants
from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of
Defense.
Contributed by: Denise Heady
Denise Heady is a science communications and media relations manager
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