A number of recent studies have successfully reduced the number of radiotherapy treatments used for prostate cancer from 39 daily treatments to as little as 5 treatments. This study is designed to determine how tumors inside the prostate respond during these 5 treatments on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and use that information to design 2 fraction radiotherapy treatments for prostate cancer.
For these two fraction treatments, the first fraction of radiation will use extra radiation to any nodules in the prostate, and the second fraction of radiation will give extra radiation to the nodule(s) in the prostate based on how those nodules responded to the first fraction of radiation. This idea is a relatively old concept but has not been used in the treatment of cancer yet. This research includes a clinical trial that evaluates whether it is safe to design treatments like this.