No treatment needed for low-risk prostate cancer
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A recent study suggests that for patients with low to intermediate-risk prostate cancer, treatment may do more harm than good, Reuters reports.
The study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute analysed data from 10 previous studies and found after 8 years, 20 percent of the men who did not undergo surgery and radiation therapy died compared to twice as many as in the treatment group.
The report by Reuters says that men who weren't treated were actually sicker than those who were treated.
Researchers predicted that among the low-risk prostate cancer patients, 2.4 percent would die in 10 years without receiving the treatment compared to triple as many as in those who received surgery and radiation therapy.
The Swedish study involved more than 6,800 men with prostate cancer who either underwent treatment - surgery or radiation or or were monitored regularly and treated only when the disease progressed.
Grace Lu-Yao, a cancer researcher at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in New Brunswick was cited as saying that diagnosis of prostate cancer means a wake up call, but not a death sentence and these men can follow a healthy lifestyle to curb the progression of the disease.
Prostate cancer is diagnosed in about 190,000 men each year in the United States and the disease kills about 35,000 annually in the country, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Early studies have suggested that men aged 70 or older may not have to receive the widely used prostate-specific antigen test because any prostate cancer treatment for this age group of men likely does more harm than good.
The things a man can do to reduce his risk of prostate cancer include exercise, reducing intake of alcohol, dairy products, red meat, dietary fat and increasing intake of vitamin C, omega-3 fat, vitamin D, flaxseed, and tea.
For more information on prostate cancer prevention, read here.
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