Prostate Surgery Saves Lives in Study

Men under 65 who have early-stage prostate cancer are less likely to die of the disease if they have surgery right away, a long-term study finds. The study focused on about 700 men in Sweden. All were under age 75. The men were randomly divided into two groups. One group had surgery to remove the prostate. The other men had close follow-up by their doctors. They were treated if the cancer got worse. Researchers kept track of everyone for 15 years. In that time, 15% of the surgery group and 21% of the other group died of prostate cancer. Surgery saved 1 life for every 15 men treated. But only 7 men needed to be treated to save a life among men under 65. Study results may not apply to cancers diagnosed after a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. This is often what happens in the United States. But few of the Swedish men had this test.