Prostate Cancer Treatment Options by Stage

Prostate Cancer Treatment Options by Stage

Treatment for Prostate Cancer depends on many factors. 

The main factors that  your physician will use to determine what treatments will be the best for you are:

• stage of disease at diagnosis
• age
• overall health condition

Listed below are the possible treatment choices you may be given if your prostate cancer is at a specific stage:

Stage I (A) Prostate Cancer

Treatment can be any of the following for Stage I Prostate Cancer:

1. Watchful Waiting.   Your physician may choose this option because the cancer is not causing any symptoms or other problems, and may be growing slowly.  This option is dependent on your age, overall condition and other factors.

2. Radiation Therapy including External Beam and Brachytherapy.

3. Radical Prostatectomy which is urgery to remove the prostate and the tissue around it (radical prostatectomy).  Radiation Therapy is also used in some cases after the radical prostatectomy.

4. Clinical Trials

Stage II (B) Prostate Cancer

Treatment can be any of the following for Stage II Prostate Cancer:

1. Watchful Waiting.   Your physician may choose this option because the cancer is not causing any symptoms or other problems, and may be growing slowly.  This option is dependent on your age, overall condition and other factors.

2. Radiation Therapy including External Beam and Brachytherapy.

3.Radical Prostatectomy which is urgery to remove the prostate and the tissue around it (radical prostatectomy).  Possibly some of the lymph nodes in the pelvis may be removed along with the prostate.   Radiation Therapy is also used in some cases after the radical prostatectomy.

4. Clinical Trials

5. A clinical trial that involves freezing the cancer using small probes (cryosurgery).

6. Other clinical trials including hormonal therapy followed by radical prostatectomy.

Stage III (C) Prostate Cancer

Treatment may be one of the following:

1. Hormone therapy.

2. Radiation Therapy including External Beam and Brachytherapy. Hormone therapy may be given in addition to the radiation therapy to possibly shrink the tumor and the prostate.

3. Radical Prostatectomy which is urgery to remove the prostate and the tissue around it (radical prostatectomy).  Possibly some of the lymph nodes in the pelvis may be removed along with the prostate.   Radiation Therapy is also used in some cases after the radical prostatectomy.

4. A doctor may follow the patient's condition closely without treatment.  The doctor may choose this option because the cancer is not causing any symptoms or other problems, and may be growing slowly.

If the patient is unable to have surgery or radiation therapy to cure the disease, palliative treatments which are meant to relieve pain or symptoms and improve the overall quality of life may be used.  These treatments may be:

1. Radiation therapy.

2. Hormone therapy.

3. Transurethral resection of prostate (TURP)

4. Brachytherapy (prostate seed implants or HDR brachtherapy

5. Clinical Trials

7. Cryosurgery

Stage IV (D) Prostate Cancer

Treatment may be one of the following:

1. Hormone therapy.

2. Radiation therapy.

3. Radiation therapy to relieve symptoms caused by the cancer (palliation).

4. Surgery to relieve symptoms caused by the cancer (palliation).

5. Chemotherapy to address cancer that may have spread to other parts of the body