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Prostate Cancer and Radiation Therapy: A History

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The History of Technologic Advancements in Urology

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Abstract

Prostate cancer is truly an ancient disease with a fascinating history that was locally aggressive during the mid-to-late nineteenth century when awareness of this illness began to accrue. With the foundations of the specialty of urology, locally aggressive radical surgeries were tried in the early twentieth century with relatively poor outcomes. Only when the marker, prostate specific antigen (PSA) became available did the perfect storm arise—early detection, early treatment and rapid surgical changes. But radiation therapy also became an effective treatment alternative, beginning first with brachytherapy methods, followed by what James M. Slater has classically referred to as the four major eras of radiation therapy—the era of discovery, the orthovoltage era, the megavoltage era and finally the intensity-modulated era which is still ongoing [1]. Into this realm the proton accelerator (ion beam therapies with protons just being one) must also be factored as well as combined radiation modalities—or the high dose regimens and radiopharmaceuticals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. American Urological Association, William P. Didusch Center for Urologic History, Carolina Urology Associates, Southwest Urology, 1015 Delaware Ave, Suite B, McComb, MS, 39648, USA

    Michael E. Moran M.D.

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  1. Michael E. Moran M.D.
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Correspondence to Michael E. Moran M.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

    Sutchin R. Patel

  2. William P. Didusch Center for Urologic History, Linthicum, Maryland, USA

    Michael E. Moran

  3. Department of Urology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

    Stephen Y. Nakada

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Moran, M.E. (2018). Prostate Cancer and Radiation Therapy: A History. In: Patel, S., Moran, M., Nakada, S. (eds) The History of Technologic Advancements in Urology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61691-9_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61691-9_14

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