'A literature review to investigate the effectiveness of external beam Dissertation

'A literature review to investigate the effectiveness of external beam radiotherapy when used as an adjuvant therapy to treat pr - Dissertation Example ........................6 2.6 Chapter One - Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦............7 2.7 Chapter Two - Literature review†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.10 2.8 Chapter Three - Methodology†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..16 2.9 Chapter Four - Results†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.22 2.10 Chapter Five – Discussion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.28 2.11 Chapter Six - Conclusions†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.34 2.12 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..37 2.13 Bibliography†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..39 2.2. Signed statement I hereby declare that the text of this d issertation is substantially my own work. X______________________________________________________________________ 2.3. Abstract (300 words) Aim. In the United Kingdom prostate cancer will affect one in fourteen men during their lifetime. Successful treatment is greatly improved by the early detection. The aim of this literature review was to assess the effectiveness of external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) in the treatment of localised prostate cancer compared to radiotherapy combined in tandem with either hormonal therapy, chemotherapy, or surgery. Consequently the hypothesis suggested was that EBRT is more effective in combination with another therapy instead of just being applied by itself alone. Commonly, external beam radiation therapy is also used in tandem with hormonal therapy if the prostate cancer is already well-advanced—but this isn’t an endorsement of one therapy over another. Methods. A literature review was conducted to collect information on the effect iveness of the four therapy techniques. A total of 40 sources—comprised of journals, books, articles, and web resources—were critically evaluated and summarily reflected upon for ease of data analysis. Findings. The findings demonstrated that EBRT is more effective when used in tandem with another form of therapy. This suggests that if EBRT is going to be one mode of treatment, another mode of treatment that should be considered is either hormone treatment, chemotherapy, or surgery. EBRT alone by itself, as demonstrated by the research reviewed, may not be enough in order to effectively treat prostate cancer aggressively enough. Conclusions. Due to the findings of the research reviewed, the hypothesis was proven correct as it was seen that EBRT was indeed more effective when combined in tandem with another one of the three forms of therapy discussed above in the treatment of localised prostate cancer. It is recommended that more research is needed in order to effective ly decide which type of treatment is ultimately the best type of therapy. The conclusion will discuss. 2.4. Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor, who has been my mentor for this entire project and without whose help this project could not have been fully realised or implemented. 2.5. Glossary Technical Terms Definition hormonal therapy the use of hormones in medical treatment Abbreviation Meaning BPH benign prostatic hyperplasia CRT three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy EBRT external beam radiotherapy IMRT intensity modulated radiotherapy 2.6. Chapter One - Introduction (1000 words) The purpose of this project is to look into the relative effectiveness or ineffectiveness of external beam radiotherapy treatment when used as an auxiliary (or adjuvant) therapy in order to aid in the treatment of prostate cancer and to investigate whether there are