How to treat prostate cancer

Early stage prostate cancer is usually treated by surgery to remove cancer cells. The effect of surgery is guaranteed, with a cure rate of up to 95%. When prostate cancer develops to the later stage, radiotherapy must be used, but there is generally no possibility of cure. Below, the editor will introduce the specific treatment methods of prostate cancer in detail.

1. Resection

Surgical resection is the most commonly used curative treatment for prostate cancer. It is called radical prostatectomy, which completely removes the prostate and tumor. The appropriate surgical method is selected based on the patient's body shape and the doctor's technical expertise.

2. Radiotherapy

Radioactive seed implantation therapy involves implanting radioactive seeds into the prostate through the skin. This method of treating prostate cancer uses close-range radiation to kill prostate cancer. Because it causes little damage and usually does not require other treatment assistance, it is also one of the curative treatments for prostate cancer.

3. External beam radiation therapy

External conformal radiotherapy is a new method of applying external beam radiotherapy to prostate cancer. By increasing the maximum radiation dose to the prostate and reducing the radiation dose to tissues near the prostate, it can reduce the adverse reactions of traditional external beam radiotherapy and improve the treatment effect.

4. Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy is a minimally invasive treatment in which a probe is placed through the skin into the prostate under ultrasound guidance, and liquid nitrogen is then injected into the probe to freeze and kill tumor cells. Currently, cryotherapy is often used as a second-line treatment for prostate cancer patients who have not responded to external radiation therapy.

In order to achieve better treatment results, a combination of multiple treatment methods is generally used for treatment. Generally speaking, after early prostate cancer is cured, regular checkups are required every 3 months, supplemented with drug therapy to achieve the purpose of consolidating treatment and prevent recurrence.