Recommendations on the management of prostate cancer - a round table conference

Abstract

Prostate cancer is one of the most common male malignancies in most European countries and the US. A significant increase in the number of new cases has been observed over the last years, most probably due to increase in the life span and introduction of PSA in the 1980s. Two main treatment modalities of early prostate cancer are surgery and radiotherapy. In selected patients with short life expectancy and low histological grade of the tumor, watchful waiting is acceptable. Treatment of advanced prostate cancer is based on inhibition of stimulatory effect of androgens on prostate cancer cells. Androgen ablation allows for subjective improvement, PSA decrease and objective tumor regression in 80% of patients. High incidence of prostate cancer and unsatisfactory results of its treatment created a demand for uniform, evidence-based diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines. Recommendations presented in this paper were prepared during a round table meeting of experts in urology, oncology and pathology, and updated with most current literature data.