Accoding to research reported in the December, 2006 Journal of the American Medical Association, there is a statistically higher rate of overall survival in men with low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer from treatment (defined as radiation therapy or radical prostatectomy) compared with just watching and waiting.
In a 12-year study evaluating data for 44,630 men, ages 65 to 80, with low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer, the men in the treatment group had a 31% lower risk of death during the next 12 years than the men the the observation group (watchful waiting only, no treatment).
An aspect of the experimental design of this study is important for consumers to know: patients who were treated only with hormone therapy were were excluded because the effect of oral antiandrogen agents on overall survival in men with localized prostate cancer is likely to be small, the researchers said.
Additional information for this summary came from a review in Medpage Today.
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