Precision radiation treatment can delay treatment escalation in men with metastatic prostate cancer without leading to severe toxicity, according to a landmark Australian study.

For the trial — the world’s largest and first to include patients with up to five metastatic lesions — almost 200 men were treated using stereotactic body radiation therapy, Melbourne’s Icon Cancer Centre-led researchers report in the International Journal of Cancer.

The treatment used radiation in high doses to target small areas of cancer while sparing healthy tissue.

After two years of follow-up, nearly 52% of men still did not need treatment escalation to initial androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for ADT-naïve patients, ADT recommencement or chemotherapy for those with prior history of the therapy or palliative radiotherapy.