The outcome of prostate cancer treatment depends largely on early detection and treatment.
According to the American Cancer Society, the 5-year survival rate for patients with early-stage prostate cancer is nearly 100%, and the 10-year survival rate is 98%. It should be said that early prostate cancer can be treated very well, and the key is to detect and treat it early.
Treatment for early-stage prostate cancer includes the following:
- Radical prostate cancer surgery.
- The complete removal of the tumor through laparoscopic techniques to achieve tumor-free.
- In recent years, da Vinci robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery has made this procedure more delicate and the incidence of postoperative complications (such as urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction) has been greatly reduced.
- Radical radiation therapy.
- Radiotherapy, commonly known as “light”, can be divided into external and internal radiotherapy.
- External radiotherapy is the fractionation of radiation from outside the body into the prostate area to “kill” the tumor cells.
- Internal radiotherapy is the implantation of particles with a radioactive source into the prostate tissue to achieve a local concentration of radiation therapy.
- Active monitoring.
- For very low-risk prostate patients, long-term survival can even be achieved without medication or surgery.
- These patients have the following characteristics: PSA (prostate-specific antigen) less than 10 ng/ml, Gleason score less than 6, number of positive biopsies less than 3, and clinical T1c to 2a in less than 50% of tumors per puncture specimen.
- However, during active surveillance, close follow-up is mandatory, with immediate medical intervention in case of disease progression.
After treatment for early-stage prostate cancer, regular outpatient follow-up is mandatory. Within 1 year of treatment, monthly follow-up of PSA is recommended, as well as annual isotope bone scan. In the second year after treatment, the frequency of follow-up is extended as appropriate.
The disease is dynamic.
The disease is a dynamic process, and in prostate cancer the process is slow, so we have given it the medical name of “inert tumor,” which means that prostate cancer is not scary.