Treating Prostate Cancer Isn't Better Than „Watch & Wait“ Approach
Cancer affecting prostate is the most common type of cancer in men, except for melanoma. According to Cancer.net, this year about 180,890 men in the United States will be diagnosed with this severe disease. This cancer poses as the second leading cause of death in men in the US, and it’s estimated that 26,120 deaths will occur in 2016 due to this disease. Numerous treatments are available to help men beat cancer, but the question is how effective are they. According to the latest study, treating this disease might not be any better than doing nothing at all.
What did study find?
When diagnosed with cancer in the prostate, it’s only natural to consider various treatments to manage symptoms and try to beat the disease. However, the 10-year study conducted by the Prostate Testing for Cancer and Treatment (ProtecT) from the United Kingdom claims that those diagnosed with the severe disease should consider holding off on aggressive treatments right away.
The trial recruited men aged between 50 and 69 and in the period between 1999 to 2009, about 82,429 men had a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, while 2664 received a cancer diagnosis and 1643 agreed to undergo randomization to active monitoring throughout the study.
For the purpose of the study, scientists categorized the participants into the following groups:
545 to active monitoring
553 to radical prostatectomy
545 to radiotherapy
The New England Journal of Medicine published the shocking findings of the effectiveness of prostate cancer treatments. Of total 1643 patients, 14 men died, and it wasn’t possible to conduct a follow-up for secondary outcomes, but scientists captured data about death for the further analysis. Results also showed that out of 545 men from first group 482 of them were assigned to surgery. Furthermore, 391 out of 553 patients from the second group underwent surgery while 405 people from the radiotherapy group received the assigned treatment within nine months after randomization.
Scientists discovered that men who received treatment (surgery or radiation) were able to limit cancer from spreading. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean they had better overall outcomes. In fact, nearly half of participants from the active monitoring (watch and wait) group didn’t need any additional treatment. Plus, patients from this group also managed to avoid the adverse effects associated with other treatments such as bowel and urinary incontinence, sexual dysfunction, cardiovascular diseases, and so on.
Surprisingly, the research also showed that regardless of the treatment that men were randomized to, they were highly unlikely to die of cancer itself or treatment after ten years. But, it’s important to point out that scientists are still following patients because most deaths due to this cancer occur between 15 and 20 years after prognosis.
The importance of this study is that it shows that active monitoring is highly beneficial for most patients, but some people affected by this cancer need a more upfront treatment. According to the guidelines, men with low-volume and low-risk disease should be followed without immediate intervention. Scientists also call for men with newly diagnosed, localized cancer of the prostate to consider the critical trade-off between the long-term and short-term effects of radical treatments.
These discoveries won’t induce some significant changes in the treatment of this cancer in the US mostly because many urologists and academic centers are already taking active monitoring approach in men with localized cancer. Dr. Anthony V. D’Amico published an opinion piece that accompanied the study and stated that the best initial approach to early cancer of the prostate remains unknown. Throughout this article, Dr. D’Amico acknowledges that besides localized cancer cases, active monitoring should also be considered if a patient has a life-shortening coexisting disease such that his life expectancy is shorter than ten years.
Preventing prostate cancer
Although there is no a certain way to prevent the cancer development, scientists have outlined some guidelines that could help men minimize their risk. For example:
Healthy diet – make sure it’s a well-balanced, low-fat diet with an abundance of fruits and vegetables. Introduce fish and seafood to diet as well
Dietary supplements – all-natural products whose primary purpose is to help preserve and improve male sexual and reproductive health. Not all supplements are created equal which is why you should make sure the manufacturer is reliable, reviews positive, and money-back guarantee present. Top male enhancement pills also contain a list of ingredients
Maintain a healthy weight – obese men whose BMI is 30 or higher have an increased risk of developing the cancer
Exercise – people who are physically active have reduced chances of getting cancer.
Conclusion
Cancer affecting prostate is one of the most common types of cancer in men. Various treatments are available to treat the patients but according to the latest study, for men with localized cancer, the active monitoring is the best option. This way, the affected individual avoid serious side effects associated with other treatments. The active monitoring approach is gaining its popularity in the US, and many urologists recommend it to their patients.
References
https://www.consumerhealthdigest.com/male-sexual-health/top-rated-male-enhancement-pills.html
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1606220#t=article
https://www.consumerhealthdigest.com/health-conditions/prostate-cancer.html