A new study shows that men diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer are nonetheless rather likely to undergo overly aggressive treatment. The researchers used SEER data in the cases of 123,934 men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer from 2004 to 2006.
FINDINGS
PSA levels of 4.0 ng/mL or lower is considered low-risk disease. Yet researchers determined that In the study, over 75% of men in the study diagnosed with prostate cancer whose PSA levels were lower than 4.0 ng/mL subsequently receieved what is considered to be very aggressive treatment modalities for such low-risk cancer: either radiotherapy (RT) or a radical prostatectomy (RP).
CONCLUSIONS
"Lowering the biopsy threshold but retaining our inability to distinguish indolent from aggressive cancers might increase the risk of overdiagnosis and overtreatment."
CANCER TYPE(S)
Prostate cancer
TREATMENT TYPE(S)
Radiotherapy, radical prostatectomy
WHERE WAS THIS RESEARCH PUBLISHED?
The Archives of Internal Medicine
By Ross Bonander
Citation
Shao YH et al. "Risk Profiles and Treatment Patterns Among Men Diagnosed as Having Prostate Cancer and a Prostate-Specific Antigen Level Below 4.0 ng/mL." Arch Intern Med. 2010:170:1256-1261.
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