Radical prostatectomy versus watchful waiting in early prostate cancer

Might be a game changer for urologists. - Longest-Running Trial of Watchful Waiting -

The study shows that, at 15 years, the cumulative incidence of death from prostate cancer was 14.6% among 347 men randomized to prostatectomy and 20.7% among 348 men being observed without treatment.

However, the survival benefit was confined to men younger than 65 years of age.  For men older than 65 years, survival was highly similar in the 2 groups. The new data from the ongoing Scandinavian Prostate Cancer Group Study Number 4 (SPCG-4) appear in the May 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. It has been conducted in men with predominantly symptom-detected early prostate cancer. All the men had clinical stage T1 or T2 disease, well or moderately well differentiated histologic findings, and a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of below 50 ng/mL.  Worth reading.