Size matters in prostate cancer treatment

BOSTON, March 21 (UPI) -- Men with prostate cancer should consider prostate size and if the patient has urinary symptoms before choosing a treatment, a U.S. study found.

Previous studies on which prostate cancer treatment to seek -- prostate surgery, external radiation or radioactive "seeds" -- involve problems with sexuality, bowel problems and problems with urinary incontinence after prostate cancer treatment.

However, Dr. Martin G. Sanda of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston said that a research team involving nine hospital found other symptoms, such as frequent or weak urination, are equally as important in determining patient satisfaction.

The study of 1,201 men and 625 spouses also found that overall satisfaction with treatment was lower among African-American men, despite their having received care at the same centers as their white counterparts, Sanda said.

Researchers found that hormonal therapy, when combined with brachytherapy or with external radiation, worsened multiple aspects of quality-of-life. Patients receiving radioactive seed treatment experienced problems with weak or frequent urination which had greater effect on overall satisfaction than previously appreciated.

Some with prostates removed surgically reported urinary incontinence and sexual side effects.

The finding were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.