Study Hails Prostate Surgery As Better Treatment Option

"Prostate cancer is a slower growing cancer," says Elsasser. "There's no evidence that it's beneficial to have my prostate removed at this time."

However, the latest research suggests that men such as Elsasser might want to rethink their decision.

Research published in today's New England Journal of Medicine shows that radical prostatectomy, or surgical removal of the prostate, can cut a man's risk of dying from the disease.

And although surgery carries with it side effects, such as impotence and incontinence, patients' overall quality of life after the procedure may be no different than those who have taken a "watchful waiting" approach. This means that no immediate treatment is given, and the patient is instead monitored for signs that the disease has progressed.

Study Results

A study of 695 men with prostate cancer found that after eight years, men who were part of the "watchful waiting" group had a 27 percent chance of dying from the disease. With surgery, the risk was cut in half to 13 percent.

"This is the first well-designed clinical trial that actually shows us that surgical removal of the prostate does something positive," Dr. Otis Brawley, associate director of cancer control at Emory University in Atlanta, tells ABCNEWS Medical Correspondent John McKenzie.

The study also found that among the "watchful waiting" group, 14 percent saw their prostate cancer spread into their bones. Those who got surgery had only half the risk.

However, the risk of death from any cause was comparable in both groups.

The second study found that impotence and urinary incontinence were common problems after radical prostatectomy, but many men in the watchful-waiting group also reported these conditions.

Eighty percent of surgery patients had erectile dysfunction, as did 45 percent of watchful-waiting patients, which, according to the study researchers, could have been due to growing tumors in some cases. Watchful-waiting patients were also more likely to have an obstruction blocking urinary flow.

Breakthrough Research?

The question of whether to aggressively treat early prostate cancer is controversial, due to both the nature of the disease and the risks of treatment.

Because a decreased risk of death is associated with the surgery, some physicians believe this is a landmark study.

"The key finding is that prostate cancer mortality is cut in half," says Dr. Tomasz M. Beer, assistant professor of medicine at Oregon Health and Science University. "Overall survival benefits in this setting are difficult to detect not only because of the small sample size but also because of the contribution of competing causes of mortality."