Doctors often suggest less aggressive treatment in seniors who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer. But now new research conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, and reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, suggests those decisions may rely too much on age.
The study looked at 12,000 men with prostate cancer. It found that patients older than 75 were less likely to get local therapy, regardless of how aggressive the disease was, compared with men fifty-five years and younger. Local therapy treatments include radical prostatectomy, cryotherapy, electron beam radiation therapy, and brachytherapy, and other therapies like primary androgen deprivation therapy.
The findings suggest that the under-treatment of prostate cancer in the elderly, even when their disease is high-risk, may account for the increased mortality rates in seniors. The researchers concluded: These findings support treatment decision-making based on disease risk and life expectancy -- rather than chronologic age.
In fact, recent studies have shown that with careful patient selection, gains in life expectancy in menover 70 who have more comprehensive treatment, like radical or laparoscopic prostatectomy, are comparable to those in younger men.
Often prostate cancer does not show any signs in its earliest stages, so it's helpful to be on the lookout. Symptoms include:
Trouble urinating
Decreased force in the stream of urine
Blood in urine
Blood in semen
Swelling in legs
Discomfort in the pelvic area
Bone pain
