Multimodality treatment for patients with node-positive prostate cancer: The role of radiation therapy

Prostate cancer is the secondary most frequently diagnosed cancer in the world. Although numerous prospective randomized trial have been conducted to guide the management of patients with localized or locally advanced prostate cancer, few clinical trials targeting node-positive prostate cancer have been reported. Therefore, there are still controversies in the optimal management of node-positive prostate cancer. Recently, efficacy of multimodality treatment, including radiation therapy (RT), for such patients has been reported in several articles. The results indicate potential benefit of RT both in adjuvant therapy after prostatectomy and in definitive therapy for node-positive prostate cancer. The aim in this article was to summarize the current evidence for RT and evaluate the role in multimodality treatment for patients with node-positive prostate cancer.