Prostate cancer prognosis difficult to predict
A test used to predict whether men with prostate cancer are likely to develop a fatal cancer is less reliable than previously thought, according to new research from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. Men with localised prostate cancer generally have a good chance of surviving the disease, even without treatment. Previous research appeared to show a link between how quickly the tumour will grow and the speed with which blood levels of PSA (Prostate-specific Antigen) increase in the early stages of the disease. The researchers followed 267 Scandinavian men who were diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1989 and 1999. In the first two years after diagnosis, the patients' PSA levels were measured regularly to create a PSA curve. The scientists found that although both the PSA reading and the rate of increase were correlated with the development of aggressive prostate cancer, neither of these values could reliably pick out which patients would have needed intensive treatment from among those who did not. The issue is important as aggressive treatment for prostate cancer involves surgery and radiation therapy, and can increase the risk of incontinence and impaired sexual function. 'We have to find better methods of separating the patients who will develop malignant prostate cancer from those with a more benign disease,' said lead author Katja Fall. 'This is important. Not only to avoid unnecessary suffering, but also to make sure that hospital resources are directed towards the patients who need it most.' The research, which was carried out in the framework of the Scandinavian Prostate Cancer Group, is published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Countries
Sweden