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Surgery for early-stage prostate cancer does not lead to longer lives, study finds


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2017 Jul 16, 1:47pm   799 views  0 comments

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A long-term study of men diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer has confirmed that patients who forgo immediate surgery have the same odds of living another decade or two as patients who have their tumors surgically removed.

The results, published in Thursday’s edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, show that while each approach offers a different mix of benefits and risks, neither is likely to result in death due to prostate cancer.

“Surgery did not reduce mortality in men with localized prostate cancer,” said Dr. Timothy Wilt of the Minneapolis VA Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research, who led the study with Dr. Michael Brawer of Myriad Genetics. “We are particularly confident of this in men with low-risk disease, men who are 65 or older, or younger men with serious health conditions.”

Over the last decade — and especially within the last five years — doctors have increasingly recommended observation for men with early-stage localized prostate cancer instead of immediate surgery or radiation treatment.

Full Article: http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-prostate-cancer-surgery-20170712-story.html

Report from the New England Journal of Medicine cited in the L.A. Times piece:

Follow-up of Prostatectomy versus Observation for Early Prostate Cancer: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1615869

#Cancer #Medicine #Survival #Science

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