A long-term study from Sweden suggests that men with early prostate cancer may benefit more from radical prostatectomy than active surveillance, also termed watchful waiting. Roughly 700 men were randomized to undergo surgery or watchful waiting. They were followed up for 23 years.
63 of the men who received surgery died from prostate cancer, compared to 99 of those in the active surveillance group. After 18 years, 18% of the men who had undergone a radical prostatectomy had died from prostate cancer, compared to 29% in the watchful-waiting group. That is an absolute risk reduction of 11 percentage points.
The benefit was greatest among men under 65 at diagnosis. These data show that among older men with intermediate risk tumors, radical prostatectomy can save lives.
If you are interested in learning more about prostate cancer, you may wish to listen to our one-hour interview on the topic with some of the country’s leading experts.
