Study: Elderly Can Wait To Treat Prostate

Older men may safely delay or avoid treatment for early-stage prostate cancer, a study concludes. Researchers looked at data on 9,018 U.S. men who decided not to get treatment. Half of the men were over 75. About 1 out of 10 died of prostate cancer within 10 years. Most prostate tumors grow slowly. The treatments often can cause bladder and sexual problems. In the study, about 3 out of 10 men eventually got treatment. But they delayed for an average of 11 years. The Associated Press wrote about the study February 15.