Five-session radiotherapy matches surgery for prostate cancer with far fewer side effects, eight-year trial finds

From the Newshound archive · first published 28 September 2026 · last updated 29 September 2026.

Royal Marsden researchers have found that a five-session targeted radiotherapy treatment is as effective as removing the prostate for men with low-to-intermediate-risk prostate cancer, with 91 per cent showing no signs of recurrence after eight years compared with 84 per cent who had surgery. The treatment, stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), was already approved for routine NHS use in June, but experts warn that a large number of men are still not learning of its existence. Dr Nicholas van As, the study's lead author, said patients should be aware that surgery is not their only curative option.

SBRT uses real-time imaging to precisely target tumours via a device called the CyberKnife, delivering treatment in just five sessions over one to two weeks.

Men who received radiotherapy reported substantially lower rates of urinary incontinence and sexual dysfunction at the two-year mark than those who underwent surgical removal of the prostate.

Surgery leaves virtually ALL men with erectile dysfunction and unable to conceive naturally — side effects SBRT largely avoids, the PACE-A trial of 123 patients confirmed.