New research facilitates the selection of treatment for prostate cancer

Physicians are investigating side effects of various treatments of the prostate
When prostate cancer is detected in men at an early stage, sufferers must choose how their further treatment should proceed. Current research may facilitate this decision. Researchers are now studying the effects and side effects of different treatments.

Researchers at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center determined in their study which type of treatment is best at which stage of prostate cancer. To do so, the experts analyzed the side effects of various treatments for diseased men with prostate cancer at an early stage. The physicians published the results of their study in the medical journal "JAMA".

Prostate cancer threatens the lives of many men worldwide. Physicians now analyzed which form of treatment leads to such strong side effects. This is intended to make it easier for those affected to choose the treatment method. (Image: Kateryna_Kon / fotolia.com)

Patients with prostate cancer suffer from loss of quality of life
Recent research has shown that after surgery more common sexual problems and urinary incontinence occur compared to radiation. There are also marked differences in the quality of life of the patients. Affected men especially suffer from the uncertainty as to whether the cancer is spreading or not, the experts explain. This problem affects most men with the disease.

Watching and waiting can be a reasonable option for sufferers
Current results also support watchful waiting for the disease as a reasonable option for men in the early stage of prostate cancer, in light of earlier studies showing comparable survival rates. This applies especially to less aggressive tumors, explains Dr. med. Daniel Barocas from Vanderbilt University Medical Center. However, men who choose such an observation as a treatment may have problems with an enlarged prostate. These include, for example, frequent urination.

Results can help make it easier to decide on a treatment
Current research could help make it easier for patients to choose future treatment. This saves those affected the stress of decision-making, say the experts. Many sufferers are in a kind of shock mode after their diagnosis. When physicians educate them about the cancer stage, tumor size, treatment options, and potential side effects, it sounds like a foreign language to most patients, the researchers explain. Then the sufferers have to choose the method with which type of treatment the cancer should be treated.

For which health problems does a treatment lead?
The quality of life of the patients depends on the type of treatment. But also restrictions of sexual function and problems with urination can be attributed to the method of treatment. The results of the current research ensure that men in the early stages of prostate cancer are better informed about possible restrictions that arise from the type of treatment.

How common is prostate cancer?
More than one million men worldwide diagnose prostate cancer every year. The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be approximately 160,000 new cases of prostate cancer in the US this year alone. In addition, there are more than 26,000 deaths from the disease, say the experts.

What methods of treatment are there?
For example, physicians use surgery or radiation to treat prostate cancer. Surgery with the help of robots can be used to remove the prostate through small incisions. Alternatively, precision radiation is used to protect the surrounding tissue, explain the physicians. In a study from the University of North Carolina, the researchers used a special type of radiation, which is introduced by radioactive pellets into the tumor. This new method has not yet been assessed on how it affects the quality of life of those affected, the researchers add.

Quality of life worsens with increasing age
The results mostly show the side effects of older option methods. Persistent impotence and incontinence occur more frequently after surgery. In addition, patients who have been externally irradiated report more frequently about short-term bowel problems. The differences in quality of life due to the type of treatment have decreased during the study period. This is partly due to the fact that the quality of life worsens with age among all men, say the authors. This was also observed in patients who have chosen medical observation as a treatment method.

Physicians are examining nearly 3,700 men for study purposes
In recent studies, a total of nearly 3,700 men were examined. These were on average aged 60 years or older. Subjects had to complete questionnaires over a period of two to three years, the experts explain. This time is not long enough to compare so-called recurrence or survival rates. Therefore, the focus of the researchers was on the persistent symptoms of the patients.

Effects on the sexual function of men
When men had normal sexual functions prior to their disease, more than 57 percent of patients had worsened function two years later after surgical treatment. In comparison, the value for so-called radiation implants was 34 percent, external radiation led to a worsening in 27 percent of patients, explain the authors. If those affected had chosen medical surveillance, the value was 25 percent.

How do the treatments affect urinary incontinence??
Three years later, 14 percent of patients who had undergone surgery experienced significant urinary incontinence problems. By comparison, only six percent of men under medical observation had these problems. When treated with radiotherapy, five percent of patients developed urinary incontinence, the researchers add. (As)