Prostate Cancer Treatment Can be Avoided, Study Says

Prostate Cancer Doesn’t Need Surgery or Radiation Treatment. Credit: National Institute of Health / Openverse / CC BY-NC 2.0

A recent study says that prostate cancer doesn’t need surgery or radiation treatment in the early stage. The study was published in The New England Journal of Medicine on March 11, 2023.

The long-term study conducted in the United Kingdom has revealed that prostate cancer–specific mortality was low, regardless of the treatment assigned to patients diagnosed with localized prostate cancer.

The results of this study suggest that the decision to choose a specific treatment for prostate cancer should consider the potential benefits and harms linked with different treatments.

Between 1999 and 2009, a total of 82,429 men between the ages of 50 and 69 received prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing in the UK.

Among those tested, 2664 men were diagnosed with localized prostate cancer, with 1643 of these men appearing in a trial to assess the effectiveness of treatments. The researchers randomly assigned the patients to undergo active monitoring, prostatectomy, or radiotherapy.

Three treatments compared

The study compared prostate cancer treatments: surgery, radiation, and monitoring. Dr. Stacy Loeb, a prostate cancer professional, hailed the study’s results as positive.

The study found no difference in prostate cancer mortality at 15 years between the three groups. The study showed that 3.1% of the men in the active-monitoring group, 2.2% in the surgery group, and 2.9% in the radiation group died from prostate cancer, and the differences were not statistically significant.

Regardless of treatment, prostate cancer survival rates were 97%, which Loeb called “very good news,” according to Dr. Stacy. This study’s results offer hope for men looking to avoid treatment-related complications like incontinence and sexual dysfunction.

Panic among prostate cancer men

Presented at #EAU23: In men with prostate cancer on PSA screening, radical treatments led to half the incidence of metastasis and local progression as active monitoring without affecting disease-specific or overall survival (ProtecT trial) https://t.co/G2ABkMkyJg #oncology pic.twitter.com/s2Va08Fpxj

— NEJM (@NEJM) March 11, 2023

According to Dr. Freddie Hamdy, lead author of a recent study, men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer should take their time before making treatment decisions.

Panic and rush decisions are unnecessary. Instead, patients should carefully consider the benefits and harms connected with each treatment option.

Hamdy advises that only a small number of men with high-risk or advanced disease require urgent treatment. Patients should remain calm and consult their doctors before deciding on the best course of action.

Results of the study

Based on a recent study, cancer had spread in 9.4% of patients in the active-monitoring group, 4.7% in the surgery group, and 5% in the radiation group at the 15-year mark.

Despite this, Dr. Stacy Loeb of NYU Langone Health noted that current monitoring techniques, including MRI imaging and gene tests, have helped catch the disease’s progression before it spreads. As a result, about 60% of low-risk patients in the U.S. now choose active surveillance.

Lead author Dr. Freddie Hamdy added that while the researchers had expected a difference in survival rates at 15 years due to the spread of cancer at 10 years, the differences in cancer spread did not predict prostate cancer death.