Prostate Cancer Treatment Options

Prostate cancer treatment options vary according to what stage the cancer is in. If the cancer has not spread beyond the prostate, the three most common treatment options are a radical prostatectomy, radiation therapy and watchful waiting. Once the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, radiation therapy and surgery are not effective and other treatment options must be considered.

Early Stage Treatments

• Surgery to remove the prostate gland is called a radical prostatectomy. Radiation therapy uses X-rays to kill cancer cells. Watchful waiting--carefully monitoring the growth of the cancer but not treating it--is sometimes recommended for older men who are more likely to die of something other than the prostate cancer.

Hormone Therapy

• Hormone therapy--used to treat advanced prostate cancer--reduces the production of male hormones that the cancer needs in order to grow. This can be done by taking drugs or by surgical removal of the testicles, which produce the hormones.

Estrogen Therapy

• Administration of the female hormone estrogen also reduces the production of male hormones. Estrogen therapy was once the standard treatment for prostate cancer, but it is not widely used today.

Combined Hormonal Approach

• Some men use a combination of hormone therapy and radiation to treat advanced prostate cancer.

Chemotherapy

• Chemotherapy--the use of powerful drugs to kill cancer cells--is sometimes used to treat advanced prostate cancer that no longer responds to hormone therapy. Administered directly into a vein or by mouth, the drugs circulate through the body to attack the cancer cells.