Treatment options in prostate cancer stage by stage

Year 1995, Volume: 8 Issue: 1, 43 - 56, 01.01.1995

O. Dillioğlugil P.t. Scardino

Abstract

In summary, as longevity has improved and mortality from cardiovascular and other diseases has declined, the risk of death from prostate cancer has increased steadily. Though slow growing, prostate cancer is not a benign disease. Nearly 10 % of men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and 3 % will die of the disease. The prospects for long term control of prostate cancer diminish rapidly once it has spread beyond the immediate periprostatic tissue. The 5 year survival rate for men with metastases is less than 30 % . A simple blood test is available, PSA, which - when used in conjunction with ultrasound-guided systematic needle biopsy of the prostate - will detect potentially lethal prostate cancers earlier than the digital rectal examination. Definitive treatment, especially with radical prostatectomy, can eradicate the tumor in 90% of patients if it is still confined to the prostate pathologically, regardless of the grade of the cancer. Randomized, prospective clinical trials are now underway to demonstrate conclusively whether screening or early surgical therapy will substantially reduce the mortality rate from this disease. Until the results of these trials are available, we recommend that healthy men over age 50, who have a life expectancy of 10 years or longer, have a regular annual PSA and DRE to detect prostate cancer while it is still curable.

Keywords

Treatment options in prostate cancer stage by stage

References

• Whitmore WF, Jr. hormone therapy in prostatic cancer. Amer J Med 1956; 21:697.