Loading...
The Scandinavian Prostate Cancer Group Study Number 4 (SPCG-4), begun in 1989, is the only large trial in which radical prostatectomy and watchful waiting was compared in patients with localized prostate cancer prior to the era of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening; most enrolled patients had palpable disease. Previous reports from SPCG-4 documented fewer deaths in the prostatectomy group at 15 years (NEJM JW Oncol and Hematol May 4 2011). Now, the researchers have updated their findings.
The following outcomes have occurred significantly less often in the prostatectomy group than in the watchful waiting group at 18 years:
Overall mortality (56% vs. 69%; P<0.001)
Prostate cancer–specific mortality (18% vs. 29%; P=0.001)
Distant metastase…