Research shows Radical Prostatectomy Might Result in Better Survival than External Beam Radiation Therapy for Some Patients Presenting with Metastatic Prostate Cancer

Recent study results by Lara Stolzenbach and associates published in the International Journal of Urology shows that radical prostatectomy might result in better survival rates than external beam radiation therapy in some patients with newly diagnosed metastatic prostate cancer.

Records of 4280 newly diagnosed metastatic prostate cancer patients who had been treated with radical prostatectomy or external beam radiation were analyzed for prostate cancer-specific mortality. The 5-year prostate cancer-specific death rate was 47% in those treated with radical prostatectomy versus 53% in those treated with radiation therapy. Patients were matched for various risk factors to exclude any bias in one treatment over the other (i.e., age, PSA, Gleason grade group), the prostate cancer death rate was approximately 21% lower in those treated with prostatectomy.

They conclude that, in metastatic prostate cancer, radical prostatectomy results in lower cancer-specific mortality relative to external beam radiation therapy. As a result, radical prostatectomy should be considered as a treatment option in selected metastatic prostate cancer patients. However, further validation will be provided by ongoing clinical trials.