Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. Today, there are nearly 50,000 new cases per year in France. It is usually triggered in people from 60-65 years and beyond.
“It’s a somewhat complicated cancer,” says Xavier Michel, head of the radiotherapy department at CHR Metz-Thionville. We cannot really say that there are risk factors. Most men have microstatic foci. They do not present any particular problems.
Generally, these cancers are detected by a blood test. The matter is all the more delicate as it seems difficult today to comment on the aggressiveness of these diseases. Some can be healed, others will not evolve. “There may be a risk of overtreatment”, warns the radiotherapist.
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High precision approach
To treat these cancers, “diagnosed at an early stage”, Xavier Michel’s team started a new protocol almost a year ago to avoid side effects. “Stereotactic radiotherapy is a high-precision machine that can target only the tumor, almost to the nearest millimeter, without impacting healthy tissue. A state-of-the-art tool, with very high precision,” explains Paul Retif, medical physicist in radiotherapy at Metz Mercy.
The treatment time is reduced by injecting higher doses than those injected in conventional treatments. “We can deliver the treatment in five sessions instead of forty days previously,” adds Laurent Lozzi, the department’s health manager.
Considerable advantages for patients who not only save time, but above all no longer experience disabling side effects. “With conventional therapy, or even surgery, the main side effects are urinary incontinence and sexual impotence,” adds Paul Retif. “We increase the quality of life of patients”, underlines the head of the service.
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More care slots
Reducing the treatment time will make it possible to increase the reception slots for new patients. These are considerable advantages of this new approach.
For the time being, the Metz Mercy radiotherapy department has treated around forty people, since this type of treatment was opened to all patients. Before undertaking this high-precision treatment, the team embarked on an international study. “We have written publications,” insists the physicist.
The performance is there, and “the advantage of this site”, adds Paul Rétif, “is that we control the whole sector, since this type of treatment requires preparations by MRI. Here, we have all the technical skills and human resources adapted to these cutting-edge treatments. »
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