Patrick W. Mclaughlin, MD

The purpose of this article is to present an updated set of American College of Radiology consensus guidelines formed from an expert panel on the appropriate use of radiation therapy in postprostatectomy prostate cancer.

Dr. Beyer has presented a thoroughreview of the current literatureon salvage implanttherapy following external-beamtherapy failure. Although the reviewpresents the available data clearly, Iwould characterize the data as preliminaryand suspect. I would questionconclusions drawn from these studiesand would especially question guidelinesfor patient selection based onthese conclusions. It will be necessaryto improve staging at recurrence, improvepathology postradiation, andimprove postimplant dosimetry beforewe can define the appropriate candidatefor salvage therapy.