Prostate cancer in senior adults: over- or undertreated?

Wien Med Wochenschr. 2009;159(21-22):521-8. doi: 10.1007/s10354-009-0697-1.

Abstract

Despite the widespread use of prostate specific antigen for early prostate cancer (PCa) detection in younger men, PCa is still as disease of the elderly as 2/3 of incident cases are detected in men older than 65 years and 25% are older than 75 years at diagnosis. Opportunistic screening for PCa is not recommended for men with a life expectancy of less than 10 years. The therapeutic strategy for senior adults is driven by tumour stage/aggressiveness, co-morbidity and chronological age. Elderly patients with low/intermediate risk tumours - particularly those with a life expectancy of less than 10 years - are best managed by watchful waiting. Senior adults with intermediate/high risk tumours and a life expectancy of >10 years may benefit from curative local therapy such as radical prostatectomy or combined external beam irradiation/androgen ablation therapy. For elderly patients with metastatic disease, androgen deprivation remains the mainstay of therapy, intermittent androgen ablation is a promising approach.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Age Factors
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Androgen Antagonists / therapeutic use
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / blood
  • Brachytherapy
  • Combined Modality Therapy
  • Comorbidity
  • Disease-Free Survival
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mass Screening
  • Neoplasm Staging
  • Prognosis
  • Prostate-Specific Antigen / blood
  • Prostatectomy
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / blood
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / mortality
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / pathology
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / therapy*
  • Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
  • Unnecessary Procedures*

Substances

  • Androgen Antagonists
  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • Prostate-Specific Antigen