Prostate Cancer Treatments
The doctor and the patient will decide on the treatment mode after considering many
factors. For example, the patient's age, the stage of the tumor, his general health, and the presence of any
co-existing illnesses have to be considered. In addition, the patient's personal
preferences and the risks and benefits of each treatment protocol are also taken into
account before any decision is made.
Prostate cancer treatment - Surgery
For early stage prostate cancer, surgery is the best option and the most common one.
Radical prostatectomy involves complete removal of the prostate. During the surgery, a
sample of the lymph nodes near the prostate is removed to determine whether the cancer has
spread beyond the prostate gland. Because the seminal vesicles (the gland where the sperm
is made) are removed along with the prostate, infertility is a side effect of this type of
surgery. In order to minimize the risk of impotence (inability to have an erection) and
incontinence (inability to control urine flow), a procedure known as
"nerve-sparing" prostatectomy is used.
In a different surgical method, known as the transurethral resection procedure or TURP,
only the cancerous portion of the prostate is removed, by using a small wire loop that is
introduced into the prostate through the urethra. This technique is most often used in men
who cannot have a radical prostatectomy due to age or other illness, and it is rarely
recommended.
Prostate cancer treatment - Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy involves the use of high-energy x rays to kill cancer cells or to
shrink tumors. It can be used instead of surgery for early stage cancer. The radiation can
either be administered from a machine outside the body (external beam radiation), or small
radioactive pellets can be implanted in the prostate gland in the area surrounding the
tumor.
Prostate cancer treatment - Hormone therapy
Hormone therapy is commonly used when the cancer is in an advanced stage and has spread
to other parts of the body. Prostate cells need the male hormone testosterone to grow.
Decreasing the levels of this hormone, or inhibiting its activity, will cause the cancer
to shrink. Hormone levels can be decreased in several ways. Orchiectomy is a surgical
procedure that involves complete removal of the testicles, leading to a decrease in the
levels of testosterone. Alternatively, drugs (such as LHRH agonists or anti-androgens)
that bind to the male hormone testosterone and block its activity can be given. Another
method tricks the body by administering the female hormone estrogen. When this is given,
the body senses the presence of a sex hormone and stops making the male hormone
testosterone. However, there are some unpleasant side effects to hormone therapy. Men may
have "hot flashes", enlargement and tenderness of the breasts, or impotence and
loss of sexual desire, as well as blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes, depending on
the dose of estrogen.
Prostate cancer treatment - Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. The drugs can either be taken as
a pill or injected into the body through a needle that is inserted into a blood vessel.
This type of treatment is called systemic treatment, because the drug enters the blood
stream, travels through the whole body, and kills the cancer cells that are outside the
prostate. Chemotherapy is sometimes used to treat prostate cancer that has recurred after
other treatment. Research is ongoing to find more drugs that are effective for the
treatment of prostate cancer
Prostate cancer treatment - Watchful waiting
Watchful waiting means no immediate treatment is recommended, but doctors keep the
patient under careful observation. This option is generally used in older patients when
the tumor is not very aggressive and the patients have other, more life-threatening,
illnesses. Prostate cancer in older men tends to be slow-growing. Therefore, the risk of
the patient dying from prostate cancer, rather than from other causes, is relatively
small. |