Radical prostatectomy extends life expectancy in localised prostate cancer, trial finds

Radical prostatectomy is associated with significantly more years of life gained than watchful waiting in men with localised prostate cancer, long term follow-up results from a randomised trial have shown.1

“In clinically detected prostate cancer, the benefit of radical prostatectomy in otherwise healthy men can be substantial, with a mean gain of almost three years of life after 23 years of follow-up,” said the study authors, led by Anna Bill-Axelson, from Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden. But they warned that the benefit is highly dependent on a man’s baseline risk, which can now be better assessed with modern diagnostic procedures than in the past.

Radical prostatectomy is known …