For many cancer patients, surviving 10 years past cancer treatment is a cause for celebration, as they can be declared cancer-free. Yet prostate cancer is one form of cancer that has a higher risk of late recurrence or a recurrence occurring 10 to 15 years after a perceived successful treatment. Because of this risk of late recurrence, the American Urological Association recommends a 15-year follow-up after prostate cancer treatment.
Research presented at the 2014 meeting of the American Urological Association pointed to the need for this follow-up treatment. Researchers, led by Frank Critz, MD, of Radiotherapy Clinics of Georgia, attempted to determine how long treatment follow-up should occur. They found that a minimum of 15 years wasnecessary.
The treatment followed 2,808 prostate cancer patients from 1984 to 2002. The men were treated by radiotherapy and were declared disease free at their 10-year follow up. Of these men, 48 ended up with a late recurrence of the disease. The median time frame for the late recurrence was 12 years after treatment. The men had a medium time from the follow up to the recurrence of three years.
In addition, four of the patients had a PSA of less than 0.2 ng/ml at their 15-year follow-up, but went on to have their disease recur some 15-20 years after treatment. One of the men died after 25 years because of metastatic prostate cancer. The total recurrence rate was 3 percent at 15 years and 5 percent at 20 years. None of the patients had recurrence at 10 years, which is a common time span for being considered “cured”.
Prostate cancer is one from of cancer that is often misunderstood.
To learn more about prostate cancer and the best treatment options available, visit Dr. Bert Vorstman at https://urologyweb.com/exclusive-medical-reports/ Dr. Vorstman also blogs at http://www.urologyweb.com/uro-health-blog/
Contact him directly at bvorstmanmd@gmail.com.