FFor men over the age of 50, the risk of developing prostate cancer is quite high, and this diagnosis is made around 70,000 times a year. And then? Too often overtreated. For prostate cancer, where there is a low risk, the British Protect study has now examined whether patients should be better operated, irradiated or actively monitored. Long-term data on survival rates and side effects fifteen years after the therapy decision have now been published for the first time. Professor Peter Albers, Director of the Clinic for Urology at the University Hospital in Düsseldorf, explains what consequences these results have for treatment.
Mr. Albers, according to the Protect study, men with low-risk cancer confined to the prostate have the same disease-specific mortality, regardless of whether they have surgery, radiation or are actively monitored and only treated as the disease progresses. Shouldn’t urologists now recommend active monitoring for these patients?