Surgery vs. radiotherapy in localized prostate cancer. Which is best?
Open Access
- 7 September 2008
- journal article
- Published by Springer Nature in Radiation Oncology
- Vol. 3 (1) , 23
- https://doi.org/10.1186/1748-717x-3-23
Abstract
Surgery and radiotherapy are currently accepted alternatives for the treatment of localized prostate cancer. In the absence of relevant randomized trials no decision regarding the superiority of any of the given approaches can be made. Up to now several cohort-based approaches indicate similar outcomes for both treatments. Based on a new population based approach, Merglen and co-workers recently concluded that surgery would offer the best chance of long-term control in terms of 10-year survival for T1–T3 prostate cancer patients. Unfortunately the strength of this trial is limited by several shortcomings. Most importantly, issues of radiation dosage have not been taken into account. In addition, several relevant parameters including Gleason score and PSA are not well balanced between the arms and the assignment to arbitrary risk groups does not reflect the real biological behaviour. Thus, the data provided do not support the strong conclusion issued by the authors. Based on the data available, surgery and radiotherapy still have to be considered as equally effective.Keywords
This publication has 17 references indexed in Scilit:
- Short- and Long-term Mortality With Localized Prostate CancerArchives of internal medicine (1960), 2007
- Case-Matched comparison of contemporary radiation therapy to surgery in patients with locally advanced prostate cancerInternational Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, 2006
- A Randomized Trial Comparing Radical Prostatectomy Plus Endocrine Therapy versus External Beam Radiotherapy Plus Endocrine Therapy for Locally Advanced Prostate Cancer: Results at Median Follow-up of 102 MonthsJapanese Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2006
- 70 Gy or more: which dose for which prostate cancer?Zeitschrift für Krebsforschung und Klinische Onkologie, 2005
- Laparoscopic pelvic lymph node dissection allows significantly more accurate staging in “high‐risk” prostate cancer compared to MRI or CTScandinavian Journal of Urology and Nephrology, 2003
- Biochemical outcome after radical prostatectomy or external beam radiation therapy for patients with clinically localized prostate carcinoma in the prostate specific antigen eraCancer, 2002
- HIGH DOSE RADIATION DELIVERED BY INTENSITY MODULATED CONFORMAL RADIOTHERAPY IMPROVES THE OUTCOME OF LOCALIZED PROSTATE CANCERJournal of Urology, 2001
- Outcomes for men with clinically nonmetastatic prostate carcinoma managed with radical prostactectomy, external beam radiotherapy, or expectant managementCancer, 2001
- Biochemical Outcome After Radical Prostatectomy, External Beam Radiation Therapy, or Interstitial Radiation Therapy for Clinically Localized Prostate CancerJAMA, 1998
- Limited efficacy of preoperative computed tomographic scanning for the evaluation of lymph node metastasis in patients before radical prostatectomyUrology, 1996