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Recent developments in the urologic oncology literature suggest that residual local disease—as opposed to the presence of occult metastases at surgery—may characterize a more substantial component of the natural history of the recurrence and progression of initially clinically localized prostate cancer than previously appreciated. These important studies have illuminated the extent to which postoperative radiotherapy (RT) may provide benefit to patients with adverse pathologic features (extraprostatic extension, seminal vesicle invasion, or positive surgical margins) or biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy. Nevertheless, the question of whether all patients with the aforementioned adverse features should undergo immediate adjuvant RT versus initial observation with more selective—but early—salvage RT in the event of biochemical failure remains the subject of heated controversy. This article reviews salient recent studies in this field to address important questions relevant to counseling patients on the use of postprostatectomy RT. Discussion points include data supporting benefit (efficacy), questions of generalizability of benefit (effectiveness) and risks, and important questions for further study.

The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for Prostate Cancer provide multidisciplinary recommendations for the clinical management of patients with prostate cancer. These NCCN Guidelines Insights highlight notable recent updates. Abiraterone acetate is a first-in-class hormonal agent that represents a new standard of care for patients with metastatic castration-recurrent prostate cancer who have previously received docetaxel (category 1 recommendation). Abiraterone acetate also received category 2B recommendations in the prechemotherapy setting for asymptomatic patients or symptomatic patients who are not candidates for docetaxel. The NCCN Prostate Cancer Panel also added new indications for existing agents, including the option of sipuleucel-T as second-line therapy. In addition, brachytherapy in combination with external beam radiation therapy with or without androgen deprivation therapy is now an alternative for patients with high-risk localized tumors or locally advanced disease.

The NCCN Guidelines for Prostate Cancer provide multidisciplinary recommendations on the clinical management of patients with prostate cancer. This report highlights notable recent updates. Radium-223 dichloride is a first-in-class radiopharmaceutical that recently received approval for the treatment of patients with symptomatic bone metastases and no known visceral disease. It received a category 1 recommendation as both a first-line and second-line option. The NCCN Prostate Cancer Panel also revised recommendations on the choice of intermittent or continuous androgen deprivation therapy based on recent phase III clinical data comparing the 2 strategies in the nonmetastatic and metastatic settings.