Dr. Arnaud Merglen of Geneva University and colleagues used data from the Geneva Cancer Registry to assess all 844 patients diagnosed with localized prostate cancer in Geneva from 1989 and 1998.

In the study, 158 received prostatectomy, or surgery to remove all or part of the prostate; 205 had radiation treatment, or radiotherapy; 378 chose watchful waiting,or follow-up and treatment if the disease progresses; 72 had hormone therapy; and 31 chose another type of therapy.

The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found 10-year survival rates were 83 percent for prostatectomy, 75 percent for radiotherapy, 72 percent for watchful waiting, 41 percent for hormone therapy and 71 percent for other treatment.

The effectiveness of prostate cancer treatments are still debated because there hasn't been a randomized trial, in which men would be randomly assigned to one treatment or another, the researchers said.