99 percent survival rate for prostate cancer patients regardless of treatment

A study published by the New England Journal of Medicine on different prostate cancer treatments found, after 10 years, the survival rate for patients was 99 percent, regardless of the treatment plan.

The study followed 1,643 prostate cancer patients over a period of 10 years who were randomized into the three treatment options of radiation, surgery or active surveillance to properly evaluate the benefits of each treatment.

At the end of the 10 years, the survival rate reached 99 percent for all participants, regardless of the treatment they were assigned. A total of 204 men had a progression of their prostate cancer, 112 in the active surveillance group and 46 each for the surgery and radiation groups. Of the participants in the active surveillance group, 54 percent of them underwent radical treatment such as surgery or radiation with 56 percent of patients choosing to undergo the radical treatment within nine months of starting the study.

“The rate of disease progression among men assigned to prostatectomy or radiotherapy was less than half the rate among men assigned to active monitoring, as was the rate of metastatic disease,” wrote lead author Freddie C. Hamdy, MD, MA. “These differences show the effectiveness of immediate radical therapy over active monitoring, but they have not translated into significant differences—nor have they ruled out equivalence—in disease-specific or all-cause mortality.

Hamdy noted longer-term follow-up is necessary.