A recent study has found that actively monitoring localized prostate cancer is a safe alternative to immediate surgery or radiation. The research provides long-term evidence that monitoring is a viable option for men who want to avoid treatment-related sexual and incontinence problems.
The study directly compared the three approaches — surgery to remove tumors, radiation treatment, and monitoring — and found no difference in prostate cancer mortality at 15 years between the groups. Prostate cancer survival for all three groups was high at 97%, regardless of treatment approach.
Lead author Dr. Freddie Hamdy of the University of Oxford advises men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer to carefully consider the potential benefits and harms of the various treatment options.
The study followed over 1,600 UK men who were randomly assigned to receive surgery, radiation, or active monitoring. The patients’ cancer was confined to the prostate, and the monitoring group had regular blood tests with some going on to have surgery or radiation.
Hamdy notes that a small number of men with high-risk or more advanced disease do require urgent treatments. However, for most men, there is no need to panic or rush treatment decisions.
The study’s results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at a European Association of Urology conference in Milan, Italy. The British National Institute for Health and Care Research funded the research.
The study’s findings are encouraging for men who want to avoid treatment-related side effects. In the U.S., about 60% of low-risk patients choose monitoring, now called active surveillance.
Today’s monitoring practices are better, with MRI imaging and gene tests guiding decisions. The researchers expected to see a difference in survival at 15 years due to the difference in cancer spread at 10 years, but did not. However, the findings are useful for men when making decisions about treatments.
Leave a Reply