SURVIVAL AMONG PATIENTS WITH PROSTATE CANCER FOLLOWING DISTANT RADIO- AND LOW INTENSITY HORMONAL THERAPY AND NEAR-INFRARED PHOTOGRAPHY
The paper discusses the effect of photography with nearinfrared photography on survival of patients with prostate cancer (PC) after distant radio- (DRT) and hormonal therapy (January 2000 - June 2007). The control group (n=251) were treated with standard radio- and hormonal therapy alone. Besides, patients of the study group (n=308) received phototherapeutic treatment to prevent radiation-induced injuries of the urinary bladder and rectum. The groups were compared relatively to PC cell differentiation, DRT and hormonal treatment. Survival was evaluated (Caplan-Meyer); log-rank test was used to compare the results. Overall survival in the study group of patients with localized (T1-2N0 M0 ) and generalized (T1-4N0-1 M1 ) tumors did not differ from that of controls (p≥0.05). In patients with locally advanced tumors (T3-4N0-1 M0, T1-4N1 M0 ), significant differences in survival between controls and study group were recorded beginning from year 3 of the investigation: 5-year survival rates were 67% and 89%, respectively (p≤0.05).