Management of prostate cancer

Treatment for prostate cancer may involve active surveillance, surgery, radiation therapy - including brachytherapy (prostate brachytherapy) and external-beam radiation therapy, proton therapy, high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), cryosurgery, hormonal therapy, chemotherapy, or some combination. Treatments also extend to survivorship based interventions. These interventions are focused on five domains including: physical symptoms, psychological symptoms, surveillance, health promotion and care coordination.. However, a published review has found only high levels of evidence for interventions that target physical and psychological symptom management and health promotion, with no reviews of interventions for either care coordination or surveillance.. The favored treatment option depends on the stage of the disease, the Gleason score, and the PSA level. Other important factors include the man's age, his general health, and his feelings about potential treatments and their possible side-effects. Because all treatments can have significant side-effects, such as erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence, treatment discussions often focus on balancing the goals of therapy with the risks of lifestyle alterations. Treatment for prostate cancer may involve active surveillance, surgery, radiation therapy - including brachytherapy (prostate brachytherapy) and external-beam radiation therapy, proton therapy, high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), cryosurgery, hormonal therapy, chemotherapy, or some combination. Treatments also extend to survivorship based interventions. These interventions are focused on five domains including: physical symptoms, psychological symptoms, surveillance, health promotion and care coordination.. However, a published review has found only high levels of evidence for interventions that target physical and psychological symptom management and health promotion, with no reviews of interventions for either care coordination or surveillance.. The favored treatment option depends on the stage of the disease, the Gleason score, and the PSA level. Other important factors include the man's age, his general health, and his feelings about potential treatments and their possible side-effects. Because all treatments can have significant side-effects, such as erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence, treatment discussions often focus on balancing the goals of therapy with the risks of lifestyle alterations. The selection of treatment options may involve complex decisions with many factors. For example, radical prostatectomy after primary radiation failure, a very technically challenging surgical operation, may not be an option. This may enter into the treatment decision. If the cancer has spread beyond the prostate, treatment options change significantly, so most doctors who treat prostate cancer use a variety of nomograms to predict the probability of spread. Treatment by watchful waiting/active surveillance, HIFU, external-beam radiation therapy, brachytherapy, cryosurgery, and surgery are, in general, offered to men whose cancer remains within the prostate. Clinicians may reserve hormonal therapy and chemotherapy for disease that has spread beyond the prostate. However, there are exceptions: radiation therapy can treat some advanced tumors, and hormonal therapy some early-stage tumors. Doctors may also propose cryotherapy (the process of freezing the tumor), hormonal therapy, or chemotherapy if initial treatment fails and the cancer progresses. Active surveillance is observation and regular monitoring without invasive treatment. In the context of prostate disease this usually comprises regular PSA blood tests and prostate biopsies. Active surveillance is often used when an early stage, slow-growing prostate cancer is suspected. However, watchful waiting may also be suggested when the risks of surgery, radiation therapy, or hormonal therapy outweigh the possible benefits. Other treatments can be started if symptoms develop, or if there are signs that the cancer growth is accelerating . Approximately one-third of men who choose active surveillance for early stage tumors eventually have signs of tumor progression, and they may need to begin treatment within three years. Men that choose active surveillance avoid the risks of surgery, radiation, and other treatments. The risk of disease progression and metastasis (spread of the cancer) may be increased, but this increase risk appears to be small if the program of surveillance is followed closely, generally including serial PSA assessments and repeat prostate biopsies every 1–2 years depending on the PSA trends. Study results in 2011 suggest active surveillance is the best choice for older 'low-risk' patients. Surgical removal of the prostate, or prostatectomy, is a common treatment either for early stage prostate cancer or for cancer that has failed to respond to radiation therapy. The most common type is radical retropubic prostatectomy, when the surgeon removes the prostate through an abdominal incision. Another type is radical perineal prostatectomy, when the surgeon removes the prostate through an incision in the perineum, the skin between the scrotum and anus. Radical prostatectomy can also be performed laparoscopically, through a series of small (1 cm) incisions in the abdomen, with or without the assistance of a surgical robot. Radical prostatectomy is effective for tumors that have not spread beyond the prostate; cure rates depend on risk factors such as PSA level and Gleason grade. However, it may cause nerve damage that may significantly alter the quality of life of the prostate cancer survivor. Radical prostatectomy has been associated with a greater decrease in sexual function and increased urinary incontinence than external beam radiotherapy, an alternative treatment.