TUESDAY, Jan. 11, 2005 (HealthDayNews) -- Using a combination of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to target treatment can help prevent erectile dysfunction in prostate cancer patients after they receive radiation therapy.
That's the conclusion of a study by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.
In the study of 25 patients, the researchers used this method to target the prostate more precisely while sparing blood vessels that control erectile function.
Typically, oncologists use only CT to pinpoint the prostate and target treatment. But CT can't provide a view of the bottom of the prostate. Instead, doctors estimate where the prostate ends.
The combination of CT and MRI provides a more complete image of the prostate and enables doctors to avoid critical blood vessels below the prostate. Preliminary results from this study suggest that avoiding those blood vessels prevents erectile dysfunction following radiation therapy.
"Because we can't see any detail of this area on CT scans, we just assume if we treat below the prostate it's no big deal. But it is a big deal. There is no cancer below the prostate, but there are critical structures related to erectile dysfunction as well as urine sphincter function. Treating below the prostate may result in needless problems," study author Dr. Patrick W. McLaughlin, clinical professor of radiation oncology, said in a prepared statement.
The study appears in the January issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics.
More information
The National Cancer Institute has more about prostate cancer treatments.
