Prostate cancer is the most common cancer found in men around the world. Each year, more than 1.4 million men are diagnosed with it. When the cancer is caught early and hasn’t spread, it can often be treated successfully.
One common treatment is radiotherapy, which uses targeted beams of radiation to kill cancer cells. This option is often just as effective as surgery, especially when the cancer is still within the prostate.
One big advantage of radiotherapy is that it can be done without staying in the hospital. Patients usually visit a clinic for treatment and then go home the same day. This makes it easier for men to continue their normal routines while receiving care.
However, the traditional radiotherapy schedule takes a long time—up to eight weeks. This can be tiring for patients and also puts a lot of strain on hospitals and clinics.
Now, a large study from Sweden offers good news. Researchers found that a much shorter course of radiotherapy—only two and a half weeks—works just as well as the standard eight-week plan.
This finding comes from a clinical trial called HYPO-RT-PC, which followed men with prostate cancer for 10 years after treatment. The results were recently presented at a major European medical conference, ESTRO 2025, and published in the journal Radiotherapy and Oncology.
In this study, 1,200 men with prostate cancer that had not spread were split into two groups. One group received the standard treatment of 39 sessions over eight weeks. The other group got a shorter treatment of just seven sessions over two and a half weeks.
The total amount of radiation was different, but the goal was the same—to kill the cancer while protecting healthy tissue.
After 10 years, both groups had very similar outcomes. About 72% of men in the short-course group were still free of cancer without needing further treatment. In the standard group, 65% were cancer-free.
Survival rates were also close: 81% of the short-course group were still alive compared to 79% in the standard group. Importantly, the number of men who died specifically from prostate cancer was the same in both groups—only 4%.
The study also looked at side effects, especially problems with urination and bowel movements, which can happen after radiation. Again, both groups had similar results. Most side effects were mild or moderate and did not get worse over time. This means that giving a higher dose of radiation in fewer sessions does not lead to more serious problems in the long run.
Dr. Per Nilsson and Dr. Adalsteinn Gunnlaugsson, who led the research at Skåne University Hospital and Lund University in Sweden, said the results confirm earlier findings from the same trial.
After five years, the shorter treatment had already shown good results. Now, with 10 years of follow-up, doctors and patients can be even more confident that this approach is safe and effective.
This shorter treatment plan, sometimes called “ultra-hypofractionated radiotherapy,” could help patients avoid the long and often tiring eight-week schedule. It could also reduce health care costs and make better use of medical staff and equipment.
Dr. Camilla Thellenberg-Karlsson from Umeå University, who presented the results at ESTRO, said that the findings clearly show the shorter course is just as good and does not lead to more long-term side effects.
Experts say this kind of research can really change how prostate cancer is treated around the world. Professor Matthias Guckenberger, President of ESTRO, said that shortening the treatment time is a big win for patients, allowing them to return to normal life more quickly. It also helps hospitals treat more people with fewer resources.
In conclusion, this study shows that a two-and-a-half-week course of radiotherapy is just as safe and effective as the standard eight-week treatment for prostate cancer that has not spread.
It provides the same level of cancer control and survival, with similar side effects. This could mean a big change in how prostate cancer is treated, making it easier for patients and more efficient for health systems.
If you care about prostate cancer, please read studies about a natural ally against prostate cancer, and supplements and keto diet can boost immunotherapy for prostate cancer.
For more health information, please see recent studies about how to harness the power of anti-cancer foods and supplements, and low-fat diet may help stop cancer growth.
The research findings can be found in Radiotherapy and Oncology.
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