"Radiation Therapy Effective Even for Elderly Prostate Cancer Patients"

Professor Nam Taekgeun's Team Publishes Research Paper
in International Academic Journal

(From left) Jaeuk Jung, Yonghyup Kim, Taekgeun Nam professors.

Hwasun Chonnam National University Hospital announced on the 13th that a research paper by Professor Nam Taekgeun's team from the Department of Radiation Oncology, titled "Comparison of Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy Outcomes by Age Group in High-Risk Prostate Cancer Patients," has been published in the April 2025 issue of the European journal Radiotherapy and Oncology (IF: 4.9).

Professor Nam Taekgeun, the corresponding author, conducted the study together with Professors Kim Yonghyeop and Jung Jaewook (co-first authors).

The team analyzed 569 patients diagnosed with high-risk prostate cancer who received curative-intent intensity-modulated radiation therapy at Hwasun Chonnam National University Hospital. Using propensity score analysis to balance various variables between patients under 75 and those 75 or older, they found no significant differences in tumor control rates, complication rates, or cancer-specific survival between the two groups.

According to the NCCN cancer treatment guidelines, curative-intent radiation therapy is recommended for high-risk prostate cancer patients only if their expected survival is at least five years. Statistics Korea data from 2023 estimates the life expectancy of an average 80-year-old man in good health to be 8.26 years.

Professor Nam Taekgeun emphasized, "Elderly prostate cancer patients should not avoid treatment simply due to their age," and added, "They can actively receive safe and effective radiation therapy."