Is Treatment Necessary For Prostate Cancer?
Prostate Cancer Videos
The Gleason Grading System is used to assess the aggressiveness of prostate cancer. Learn how the Gleason score is calculated and what it means.
Learn about the alternatives to general anaesthetic when undergoing prostate surgery. Could a spinal anaesthetic or a nerve block be the right choice for your prostate operation?
Find out when chemotherapy is used to treat prostate cancer, what to expect and the benefits in this short film.
Do you need surgery to treat your prostate cancer? Find out the advantages to keyhole surgery in this short film.
Treating prostate cancer with hormone therapy can be very effective. Click here to learn how hormone therapies can help your prostate cancer.
Treatment for prostate cancer in older men can involve nothing more than watchful waiting or active surveillance. Could this be the best treatment for you?
New treatments for prostate cancer are currently being trialed to treat patients with localised prostate cancer. Could they help you too?
There are many options for prostate cancer surgery. How does your doctor choose which one is right for you?
There are a variety of surgeries used to treat and remove prostate cancer. Find out which surgery for prostate cancer is right for you.
Radiotherapy can kill prostate cancer cells without the need for complicated surgeries. Learn more about radiation therapy, its advantages and side effects, here.
Are you having keyhole surgery to treat your prostate cancer? Find out about new advancements in this short film.
In this video, leading urologist Mr Christopher Eden discusses the advantages and effects of treating prostate cancer with surgery.
Do I need treatment for prostate cancer? The watchful waiting approach
Many men ask the question: 'is treatment necessary for prostate cancer?' Well the short answer is that not all men diagnosed with prostate cancer need treatment. When considering whether to treat prostate cancer in a patient, an urologist will consider the following circumstances:
The grade of the prostate cancer1
A prostate cancer grade determines how quickly the cancer is likely to spread. A grade of 6 out of 10 is considered a low grade cancer unlikely to grow quickly or spread to other parts of the body2. A biopsy of the prostate cancer cells will be needed to determine the grade2.
The stage of the prostate cancer
The stage of prostate cancer refers to how big the tumour is and whether it has spread to other parts of the body2. At stage 1 the cancer is contained within the prostate and has not spread to other parts of the body. In most circumstances, the higher the stage of the prostate cancer the more treatment the patient will need.
Patient’s health and age
The patient’s general health and age will also be considered when determining whether to treat prostate cancer with surgery. The watchful waiting approach is more common in older men over the age of 65. For an older man, with a diagnosis of prostate cancer at a low grade and stage, it may be that he outlives his prostate cancer without experiencing any significant symptoms.
How is prostate cancer monitored? Active surveillance
Prostate cancer left untreated is closely monitored for signs of tumour progression. This is often referred to as active surveillance or watchful waiting1. Patients will need regular blood tests to monitor their prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, as a rising PSA level would indicate that the tumour is growing. Prostate biopsies will also be needed to assess the grade of the tumour. Prostate cancers initially given a low grade, where the tumour is growing very slowly, can change into fast progressing tumours at any time1.
Mr Christopher Eden
Consultant Urologist
References:
1. NHS Choices – Prostate cancer treatment. Date last updated: 14.02.2011. Website:
www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Cancer-of-the-prostate/Pages/Treatment.aspx
2. Macmillan Cancer Support - Prostate Cancer. Date last updated: 01.02.2010. Website:
www.macmillan.org.uk/Cancerinformation/Cancertypes/Prostate/Symptomsdiagnosis/Gradingstaging.aspx
10517 February 2012
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