The History of Prostate Cancer Treatment

Prostate cancer is the second leading form of cancer suffered by men, and is the ninth most common form of cancer worldwide. The disease was first identified in 1853, but it likely dates back many centuries. It is not always fatal, and doctors have worked tirelessly in recent decades to improve treatment methods.

Early Surgical Attempts

• The earliest attempts to treat cancer of the prostate involved surgery to remove urinary blockages. This was first attempted in the 1890s but was not successful. In 1904, removal of the entire prostate gland, radical perineal prostatectomy, was developed. However, this method has unwanted penile side effects relating to proper function, and better treatments were sought.

Radiation Therapy

• When X-rays were discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen, it didn't take long for scientists to start investigating the use of radiation to treat cancer. Marie Curie contributed to this research as well, and her work with radium paved the way for the use of radium implants in the early years of the 20th century to treat prostate cancer.

Hormone Therapy

• Hormone therapy is another treatment method, and it was devised by Charles B. Huggins in 1941. He used estrogen to control the growth of the tumors, and this discovery ultimately lead to a Nobel Prize for Huggins in 1966.

  Two of the most common hormones used to treat prostate cancer are leuprolide and goserelin. Both of these hormones came into use for this purpose in the late 1970s due to work carried out by Andrzej W. Schally and Roger Guillemin.

Role of Chemotherapy

• Unlike many other forms of cancer, prostate cancer does not respond well to chemotherapy alone. Chemo is, however, used in conjunction with hormone therapy and other medications. In 1996, the FDA approved Novantrone, the first chemo drug used in combination with steroids to fight hormone refractory prostate cancer.

  In 2004, the FDA approved docetaxel (Taxotere) along with prednisone steroids to fight prostate cancer that did not respond to hormone therapy.

Robotic Surgery

• While robotic-assisted surgery has been around since the 1990s, it wasn't until 2003 that it was used to treat prostate cancer by surgeons at the University of Chicago Hospitals, taking their lead from a team of French researchers. Laparoscopic robotic surgery can help patients return to their former lifestyle more quickly, and many patients only need a week or less to recover.