Abstracts by keywords: Prostate cancer
Prostate carcinoma is the most common cancer in men. It is estimated that around 68,000 men in Germany were diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2012. Although the mortality rate has been falling since 2003, according to the Robert Koch Institute, around 11,000 men still died of prostate cancer in 2008 [Robert Koch Institute 2012]. It becomes clear that prostate cancer is a disease that also has great health economic importance. With the development of new effective drugs, the survival of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer has improved significantly. In a study recently presented by the Institute of Cancer Research, a patient group of 442 patients showed a median survival of 31 months, which is significantly longer than the overall survival that could be derived in previous studies and based on nomograms, which was 18 months (Halabi) and 21 months (Smaletz) (Fig. 1 [Omlin et al. 2013]). If one also looks at the estimated survival of 6 to 10 months for these patients in the therapeutic era before docetaxel was approved in 2005, one can see that survival has now more than doubled.
24.01.2013
What man wouldn't be terrified if they were diagnosed with prostate cancer? However, whether a panic attack is justified depends on the stage of the illness. If bone metastases already appear, life expectancy is low. Tumors in the prostate often spread to the bones. Metastases in other areas of the body also further shorten the lifespan of patients.
24.01.2013
HAROW is a study in the field of urological health services research and at the same time the largest study on localized prostate cancer (PCa) in Germany. The name is derived from the first letters of the treatment options applicable to PCa, hormone therapy, active surveillance, radiotherapy, surgery and watchful waiting. HAROW documents the course of the different therapy strategies under everyday conditions. It records medical progress data, information on communication between doctor and patient, side effects and therapy acceptance as well as the costs of treatment under everyday conditions. The special feature is that, for the first time in Germany, defensive strategies such as active surveillance and watchful waiting are included in the treatment comparison. The aim is to record the distribution across the different treatment arms, the resource consumption and benefits as well as the acceptance of the therapies under everyday conditions. The following article presents the concept and structure of the study and shares some of the results evaluated.