Is There A Cure For Prostate Cancer ?

The nature of the treatment of prostate cancer can vary widely, from nothing and active surveillance to a prostate removal. This depends on the type of tumor and the extent to which it is advanced. The urologist determines the degree of tumor and the so-called Gleason score.

Waiting awaiting

The main treatment of prostate cancer is nothing. The development of prostate cancer is after all very slow and most men do not suffer from it. However, surgical treatment may have major side effects, such as impotence or incontinence.

Particularly in men with advanced age prostate cancer (over 70 years), treatment is often unnecessary. They (years later) will die with prostate cancer, but not prostate cancer.

Active surveillance

For certain patients who are diagnosed with non-aggressive prostate cancer, there is no need to follow treatment. These patients are then included in a so-called active surveillance protocol.

Experience teaches that nearly 50% of men with prostate cancer have been identified are eligible for an 'active surveillance' protocol. This means that after diagnosis, they will not get any treatment, do not operate and do not need to be irradiated. They are being monitored closely - initially every 3 to 6 months and later on a yearly basis. This control consists of a blood sampling (for PSA control), a general physical examination and, if necessary, an echographic examination of the prostate, which occurs via the anus.

Operational surgery

In a prostate cancer that is thought to be treated and restricted to prostate, so not sown, an operative removal of the prostate (prostatectomy) is the most commonly used procedure. The prostate is an important organ, but can also be eliminated without adverse effects, and the cancer has also disappeared immediately.

There are three types of surgical intervention:

Open stomach prostatectomy. In this case, the prostate is removed by a traditional surgical procedure through a cut in the abdominal wall. This is the oldest and most important operation and is in fact not often applied more often. Laparoscopic prostatectomy. This is removal of the prostate through a viewing operation. The surgeon makes a number of small cuts in the abdomen and can remove the prostate with equipment at the ends of the laparoscopes. Robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy. This method, known as the English abbreviation RALP, is similar to the laparoscopic prostatectomy, only the laparoscopes are powered by small engines operated by a urologist who can work in a more relaxed manner and with much better images, and thus Easier to perform the procedure.

All three of these methods are in fact almost as effective in removing prostate and prostate cancer. This is determined after surgery by a laboratory analysis of the "cut surfaces" where the prostate is cut. If the cutting surfaces are clean (no cancer cells are detected), the probability is very high that the prostate cancer has been completely removed.

The types of surgery differ somewhat in the prevention of complications, the most important being incontinence and impotence. This because the surgeon has to cut near the nerve to the penis. In particular, the open belly surgery gives more complications, the RALP significantly less. Radiation

An alternative to prostate removal is radiotherapy (radiation). This can be done in two ways: external radiation or internal radiation (brachytherapy).

Brachytherapy is an internal treatment where radioactive material is introduced into the prostate, which irradiates the cancerous cells from there. It is most commonly used in men who can not be treated surgically for various reasons, for example because they can not safely undergo narcosis.

The disadvantage of brachytherapy is a probability of proctitis, an inflammation of the rectum. In case of irradiation, the risk of incontinence is significantly less than with prostate removal. However, placement may occur regularly and the risk of impotence, especially in the case of external irradiation, is greater than with prostate removal.