Historically a large proportion of prostate cancer has been treated with daily external beam radiation with the patient lying down flat on a hard table bed, in most cases with a full bladder.
However studies are starting to explore whether this is truly the optimal position as it is being increasingly recognized that when we lie down, our organs move or change shape and often into a less natural position than when we stand or are seated upright, so why are we still doing it in this position?
In a small research study by Schreuder et al (2023) 15 volunteers were scanned lying flat with a full bladder and in the upright position some with a full and some an empty bladder.
What does this study shows us?
In the upright position:
What does this mean for treatment?
Other Research
Research carried out at Centre Léon Bérard (CLB) in Lyon, France, a comprehensive cancer centre that is dedicated solely to cancer care, research and education, has been assessing upright positioning and immobilization accuracy based on optical images, the setup time and comfort for participants in pelvic positioning and repositioning.
They found that the accuracy of repositioning participants into the upright treatment position each day varied by less than 1 millimeter and whilst staying in that position for 20 minutes 80% of people moved by less than 1 millimetre and 90% moved by less than 3 millimeters. This suggests that the position is stable and comfortable so that when people are having their treatment, which can take up to 20 minutes, their prostate is likely going to remain exactly where the treatment is being targeted.