Study raises concern on over-treatment of prostate cancer

According to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine, an increasing number of men with prostate cancer are receiving unnecessary procedures, which might not extend their survival rate.

A trial of 1,643 men with small prostate cancers were exposed to different forms of treatment and after a decade, the 99 per cent survival rate was the same for those who had had surgery, radiotherapy in addition to those who had simply monitored the tumour.

In an interview with the BBC, Professor Freddie Hamdy from the University of Oxford, explained: “It's a global problem that patients are over-treated. It's understandable, if a 55-year-old man is told they have cancer, and they have a family, they don't want to take any risks."

The researchers warned that excessive treatment often damaged the sex-life and general quality of life for prostate cancer patients. For patients who underwent procedures, there was a double the risk of incontinence while those having radiotherapy increased their risk of bowel problems.

The study noted that whilst there was a higher risk of side-effects when receiving treatment for the cancer, merely keeping an eye on the tumour risked the cancer progressing.

Professor Jenny Donovan, from the University of Bristol, said: "This is the first time radiotherapy, surgery and active monitoring treatments for prostate cancer have been compared directly.

"Each treatment has different impacts and effects, and we need longer follow up to see how those balance out over the next 10 years."

Dr Matthew Hobbs, from the charity Prostate Cancer UK, said: "At the moment, many men decide against active surveillance because of the uncertainty about the impact of that choice and the anxiety it causes.

"It is extremely reassuring to hear that, when it is performed to a high standard, active surveillance gives men the same chance of survival."