Prostate radiotherapy in newly diagnosed metastatic prostate cancer

Purpose of review The aim of this article is to review the role of prostate radiotherapy in the multimodal management of newly diagnosed metastatic hormone naive prostate cancer. Recent findings Two randomized controlled trials have evaluated the role of prostate radiotherapy with systemic therapy (androgen deprivation therapy +/- docetaxel) in newly diagnosed metastatic hormone-naive prostate cancer. In a combined cohort of over 2000 patients, prostate radiotherapy with systemic therapy improved survival over systemic therapy alone in patients with low metastatic burden but not in high-burden patients. Prostate radiotherapy with systemic therapy is now a recommended first-line option for newly diagnosed men with low metastatic burden prostate cancer. The current recommended definition for low metastatic burden is based on conventional imaging (Tc-99m bone scans and CT/MRI). Cross-correlative studies are required to pick an appropriate threshold for sensitive-imaging modalities such as PSMA PET or whole-body MRI. Ongoing trials are evaluating prostate radiotherapy in this setting combined with abiraterone/docetaxel and metastasis-directed therapy. Prostate radiotherapy with systemic therapy improves survival in patients with newly diagnosed, low metastatic burden prostate cancer and is a recommended first-line treatment option. Ongoing trials are evaluating combination with metastasis-directed therapy and other systemic treatments.