Treatment types

If you are diagnosed with prostate cancer your doctor will discuss treatment options with you. Every man is different, and this is also true for prostate cancer and its treatment.  Based on all the information from your doctor, you must then decide yourself, with family or friends, what to do next.

The treatment depends on:

• The type of tumour and its classification.
• The stage of the disease.
• The biological condition of the patient.
• The presence of other diseases.
• The patient’s wishes.

When to start treatment?

The aggressiveness of the tumour and its stage are decisive for starting treatment. The least aggressive tumours can be monitored in selected patients under certain conditions, and treatment can be given several years apart. Very aggressive tumours should be treated within a few weeks of diagnosis.

The treatment also depends on whether the cancer only affects the prostate or has already metastasised. The histopathological findings of the cancer (Gleason score), the PSA level and the patient’s life expectancy also play a role in determining the treatment.

For localised prostate cancer, we use two basic treatment methods: a) radical prostatectomy, i.e. removal of the entire gland with the capsule and seminal vesicles, followed by connection of the bladder to the posterior urethra, b) radical radiotherapy, i.e. radiation.

In more advanced stages of prostate cancer, it is often necessary to combine treatment methods and recommend hormone therapy to the patient. Most prostate cancers are affected by hormones produced by the male body. The influence of these hormones must be limited during treatment and castration is therefore recommended. This can be either physical (removal of the testicles) or by administering substances that block the male hormones in the body.