Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in men, and the five year survival rate is 97%. With improving technologies and men living longer with prostate cancer, it has become essential to revolutionize how we approach men with this disease. Dr. Christien Kluwe, a radiation oncologist at Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio, is leading the charge in this regard.
Kluwe asks questions like, “Does every prostate cancer patient need androgen deprivation therapy like testosterone blockers?” He wants to identify those guys who will significantly benefit from a decrease in their testosterone and make sure that they are treated with ADT. On the other hand, he wants to ensure that guys who won’t see a big benefit aren’t put through it.
In addition to ADT, Kluwe is also studying radiation techniques like stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). SBRT is so powerful and precise that it has changed the game for prostate cancer patients. With SBRT, doctors can take an eight-week treatment and squeeze it down into just five days by delivering really high doses of radiation precisely down to millimeter precision. Tiny pellets the size of grains of rice deliver radiation directly to the cancer, sparing surrounding healthy tissue – all in just five days.
Science & Medicine is a collaboration between TPR and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio that explores how scientific discovery in San Antonio advances the way medicine is practiced everywhere. Through their work, Kluwe and his team are helping to improve the lives of men with prostate cancer while also advancing medical knowledge for everyone.
