Best treatment for prostate cancer

There are many ways to treat prostate cancer, but you still need to choose a method that suits you best. Only in this way can the treatment effect become more significant. Currently, surgery is the most effective way to treat prostate cancer and the only way to achieve a radical cure. Other methods are unable to treat the disease and may even cause the disease to worsen during treatment.

Surgery is currently the most commonly used curative treatment method, called radical prostatectomy, which completely removes the prostate and tumor. Radical prostatectomy can be performed via the retropubic approach (incision from the umbilicus to the upper edge of the pubic bone), the transperineal approach (incision between the scrotum and the anus), and laparoscopic or robot-assisted lower prostatectomy. The appropriate surgical method is selected based on the patient's body shape and disease characteristics, as well as the doctor's technical expertise.

Other treatments

1. Extracorporeal conformal radiation therapy (EBRT): It is a new method of applying external radiation therapy to prostate cancer. By increasing the maximum radiation dose to the prostate and reducing the radiation dose to the tissues around the prostate, it can reduce the adverse reactions of traditional external radiation therapy and improve the treatment effect.

2. Radioactive seed implantation therapy (brachytherapy): Radioactive seeds are implanted into the prostate through the perineal skin, and the prostate cancer is killed by close-range radiation. Because the damage is small and other treatments are usually not required, it is also one of the curative treatments for prostate cancer. According to the grade, stage, and PSA value of the tumor, radioactive seed implantation therapy can be further combined with extracorporeal conformal radiation therapy.

3. Cryotherapy: It is a minimally invasive treatment method. Under ultrasound guidance, a probe is inserted into the prostate through the perineal skin, and then liquid nitrogen at minus 96 degrees Celsius is injected into the probe to freeze and kill tumor cells. Currently, cryotherapy is often used as a second-line treatment for prostate cancer patients who have failed external radiation therapy.

4. High-energy focused ultrasound therapy and radiofrequency ablation of tumors in tissues: These are also local treatment methods that are still in the experimental stage. Compared with radical prostate cancer surgery and radiotherapy, their effectiveness in treating clinically localized prostate cancer is still uncertain and requires more clinical research to evaluate.

5. Endocrine therapy for prostate cancer: It is a palliative treatment method, including medication, injections, medication combined with injections, and bilateral testicular removal. By removing or preventing testosterone (androgen) from affecting prostate cancer cells, the growth of prostate cancer cells can be temporarily inhibited, delaying the progression of the disease.

6. Chemotherapy: used to treat patients with metastatic prostate cancer that is resistant to endocrine therapy, in order to slow tumor growth and prolong the patient's life. Studies have shown that docetaxel can effectively prolong the survival of patients with endocrine-resistant prostate cancer; and cabazitaxel can further prolong the survival of patients who have failed docetaxel treatment. Many clinical trials are studying new drugs and drug combinations in order to find more effective treatments with fewer adverse reactions. Abiraterone is the new drug with the greatest clinical application value, and it is highly effective for endocrine-resistant prostate cancer.