Turns out that prostate cancer is deadlier for your than you may realize.
Research has indicated that prostate cancer is more likely to be observed rather than treated directly. These observations come from the University of California, San Francisco, where the concerns of overtreatment are being addressed.
The research conducted at UCSF found that men with low-risk prostate cancer are undergoing active surveillance, rather than aggressive treatment, in hopes of curing the illness. This process, called “watchful waiting”, includes with the hopes of avoiding more invasive options such as surgery or radiation.
Some believe that watchful waiting can be more productive in the journey to a cure, as prostate cancer develops slower in comparison to other forms of cancer.
Research data came from study of over 10,000 us patients
The data comes to us from the study of more than 10,000 patients at clinics across the US, from 1990 to 2013. When it came to men ages 75 and older, there was a surveillance rate ranged from 54 percent from 1990-1994; 22 percent from 2000-2004, and 76 percent from 2010-2013. It was revealed through the study that older men exhibited longer periods of watchful waiting.
is watchful waiting really the best option?
While watchful waiting is being considered more as a viable treatment option, there is still division from within the medical community on whether it is the best option for patients with prostate cancer. Cancer.org defines watchful waiting and compares it to active surveillance, suggesting that these two options are different despite their frequent interchangeability. Watchful waiting is described as “a less intensive type of follow-up that may mean fewer tests and relying more on changes in a man’s symptoms to decide if treatment is needed,” while active surveillance involves “monitoring the cancer closely with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood tests, digital rectal exams (DREs), and ultrasounds at regular intervals to see if the cancer is growing.” Disagreement of definition goes as far as between doctors, as each may have a different perception of the effectiveness and limitations of each form of treatment.
While it is unclear whether there shall be a truly universal definition for watchful waiting, active surveillance, or anything in between, it does seem clear that treatment options for low-risk prostate cancer patients may not stay limited to invasive treatments for long.
