Many cases of prostate cancer should NOT be treated aggressively

Watch and wait.

That’s what more than half of all prostate cancer patients should consider, according to a new study.

In past e-Alerts I’ve shown you how doctors are often too aggressive in response to a single elevated PSA reading. PSA test results can fluctuate significantly, so more than one test should be performed over a period of time before ordering a prostate biopsy (which can be painful and damaging).

New research confirms that this sort of caution is a good idea with prostate cancer.

Researchers at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center followed case histories of more than 3,300 prostate cancer patients over a period of nearly eight years. About 340 of these patients opted to defer treatment for more than one year after diagnosis. Among this group, about half remained untreated throughout the study period.

In this “watchful waiting” group, cancer spread beyond the prostate at the same rate that cancer spread among the patients who were immediately treated.

Men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer should talk to their doctors about postponing treatment.

Source:
“‘Watchful Waiting’ Often Works for Prostate Cancer” Anthony J. Brown, M.D., Reuters Health, 9/28/09, reutershealth.com