New Books Stir Debate on Prostate Cancer Therapies
Two newly published books offer contrasting advice on treating prostate cancer. In patient-guides geared for the mass market lay audience, doctors present the latest research on surgical and non-surgical perspectives. The American Cancer Society estimates that 232,090 men will be diagnosed with the disease in the U.S. in 2005.
New York, NY (PRWEB) April 27, 2005 -- Two new books about prostate cancer,
"Dr. Peter Scardino's Prostate Book: The Complete Guide to Overcoming Prostate
Cancer, Prostatitis and BPH" and "Surviving Prostate Cancer Without Surgery: The
New Gold Standard Treatment That Can Save Your Life and Lifestyle" are drawing
attention to the ongoing medical controversy over what doctors believe to be the
best type of treatment for this disease. With the PSA blood test widely used for
screening since the 1990's, more men are being diagnosed and treated early, with
physicians now recommending a variety of curative treatments depending on their
particular specialties.
The choice most often comes down to surgery
versus radiation, with or without some form of hormonal therapy. In the past,
most patients had their prostates surgically removed with the procedure known as
radical prostatectomy. But with recent changes in insurance coverage and
Medicare reimbursements, there is a growing trend among mainstream patients who
are turning to high tech radiation therapies in order to avoid the risk of
surgical side effects such as sexual dysfunction and incontinence. Reflecting
these changes in the field, the two most recent books were written by doctors
from different specialties and they present often opposing viewpoints on
treating prostate cancer.
Dr. Peter Scardino, a urologist at Manhattan's
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Medical Center, provides a surgical perspective in "Dr.
Peter Scardino's Prostate Book." In a recent interview with Michael Milken's
National Prostate Foundation, Dr. Scardino compared the cure rates for the most
common types of treatment. "With surgery, three out of four men are totally
cured. With radiation, the cure rate is two out of three." Dr. Scardino also
suggests in his book that surgery has a favorable complication rate profile
compared even with the more popular non-invasive therapies such as radioactive
seed implants, also known as brachytherapy.
The other prostate cancer
book, "Surviving Prostate Cancer Without Surgery" was co-written by a radiation
oncology team at the Dattoli Cancer Center & Brachytherapy Research
Institute in Sarasota, Florida. The group is under the direction of Dr. Michael
Dattoli, who specializes in brachytherapy and Intensity Modulated Radiation
Therapy (IMRT). Dr. Dattoli stated in a recent press release, "The greater than
10-year disease-free survival rate for patients who have completed our
brachytherapy protocol is superior to surgical removal of the prostate, with far
less risk of complications such as erectile dysfunction and incontinence. Even
higher risk patients [those with high PSA values and high Gleason scores] have
enjoyed a greater than 80% survival rate."
Relying on their own studies
and published research data, the two specialisits come to different conclusions
when evaluating the pros and cons of the currently available treatment options.
Traditionally, urologists were reluctant to refer prostate cancer patients to
radiation oncologists because of the technical complexity of radiation
procedures and lucrative payments made for radical surgery. But the most recent
CMS Medicare statistics indicate that more patients in the over-65 age bracket
are choosing brachytherapy rather than surgery. That age group accounts for more
than 70% of all prostate cancer patients. In 2001, 49,985 Medicare patients
underwent brachytherapy compared to 30,783 patients who had radical
prostatectomies.
Both types of treatment continue to be recommended to
early stage patients and are proliferating; however, many urologists now offer
patients a choice of either radical surgery or brachytherapy. The books have
stirred debate among patients in prostate cancer support groups and on Internet
forums. Because there are as yet no randomized studies that definitively compare
the competing treatments, that debate is likely to continue, with physicians
presenting their own results to try to sway patients toward one treatment or the
other.
Peer-reviewed studies by Dr. Scardino and Dr. Dattoli can be
obtained on the PubMed Web site: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&itool=toolbar
"Dr.
Peter Scardino's Prostate Book: The Complete Guide to Overcoming Prostate
Cancer, Prostatitis and BPH" by Peter Scardino, Judith Kelman
Hardcover: 496
pages
Pub: Avery (4/7/05)
List Price: $27.95
ISBN:
1583332200
"Surviving Prostate Cancer Without Surgery: The New Gold
Standard Treatment That Can Save Your Life and Lifestyle" by Michael Dattoli,
Jennifer Cash, Don Kaltenbach
Paperback: 284 pages
Pub: Seneca House /
Pathway Books (3/28/05)
List Price: $18.95
ISBN: 0964008882
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/4/prweb233654.htm