UCLA study finds over-treatment for prostate cancer patients with life expectancies of fewer than 10 years

National guidelines recommend that men with low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer who have life expectancies of fewer than 10 years should not be treated with radiation or surgery, since they are unlikely to live long enough to benefit from treatment. Yet a new study by UCLA researchers found that more than half of such men are receiving these aggressive treatments putting them at risk for potentially debilitating side effects. In the first study to rigorously address prostate cancer treatment trends by life expectancy in a large, nationally representative sample, UCLA researchers found that more than half of prostate cancer patients 66 years and older have life expectancies of fewer than10 years, but half of those still were over-treated for their prostate cancer with surgery, radiation or brachytherapy — the implantation of radioactive seeds in the prostate. Randomized controlled studies have suggested that significant differences in survival between watchful waiting — monitoring the cancer closely but not treating it — and aggressive therapies don’t develop until 10 years after treatment. Thus it makes sense not to treat men expected to die of something else within 10 years. But the UCLA researchers found that men were being treated aggressively anyway, with little regard for their quality of life, said study first author Dr. Timothy Daskivich, a UCLA Robert Wood Johnson fellow. “Life expectancy is poorly integrated into treatment decision-making for prost...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news