Complain about a product or service

New Prostate Surgical Techniques Often "Over-Promoted"

Many treatments have not been adequately evaluated before use

October 20, 2008

• Study Links Prostate Cancer to Single Rogue Cell • PSA Testing May Be Unnecessary for Some Older Men • Compound Can Identify Prostate Cancer • Improved PSA Tests May Better Determine Prostate Cancer Risk • Vitamins Don't Cut Prostate Cancer Risk • Aspirin May Lower PSA Levels in Men • FDA Approves New Overactive Bladder Drug • New Prostate Surgical Techniques Often "Over-Promoted" • Feds Approve Drug for Enlarged Prostate • New Prostate Cancer Treatment Shows Promise • Broccoli Reduces Prostate Cancer Risk, Study Finds • Celebrex-Lipitor Combo May Halt Prostate Cancer • Exercise May Speed Prostate Tumor Growth • Soy Compound May Halt Spread of Prostate Cancer • Obesity Linked to Higher Prostate Cancer Mortality • Red Wine May Fight Prostate Cancer • Enlarged Prostate Doesn't Mean Cancer • Hopkins Researchers Claim Better Blood Test for Prostate Cancer • Severe Form of Enlarged Prostate Disease Discovered • Tomato-Broccoli Combo Can Help Shrink Prostate Cancers • Weight Gain Increases Risk of Dying from Prostate Cancer • Smoking Linked to Complications in Prostate Cancer Treatment • Newer Approach Urged in Screening for Aggressive Prostate Cancer • Aspirin May Prevent or Delay Enlarged Prostate • Hopkins Researchers Find Better Blood Test for Prostate Cancer • Prostate Radiation May Cause Problems Later • New Test Detects Prostate Cancer Spread Earlier • Castration May Be Advised in Advanced Prostate Cancer • Radiation Therapy May Be Best for Younger Prostate Cancer Patients • Study Recommends More Prostate Biopsies • Delayed Surgery May Be OK for Some Prostate Cancer Patients • Study: PSA Test Doesn't Improve Prostate Cancer Survival Rate • Prostate Cancer Genes Identified • Annual Prostate Cancer Screening Test Appears to Save Lives • FDA Panel Rejects Prostate Cancer Pill • PSA Test Still Useful, Hopkins Study Finds • No "Normal" PSA Level: Study • New Prostate Cancer Test Shows Promise • Lifestyle and Diet May Stop or Reverse Prostate Cancer Progression

While treatment options for prostate problems have expanded over the last few yearsthe German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care warns that some new surgical techniques are being heavily promoted without first having been adequately evaluated.

For many men, the symptoms of enlarged prostate are just annoying. But for others, it means going to the bathroom so often that a good night's sleep has become a thing of the past. Most of the time the cause is an enlarged prostate, a condition doctors call "benign prostatic hyperplasia". One in five men in their 50s are affected and the majority of men in their 70s will have symptoms.

The treatment choices have greatly expanded in recent years. However IQWiG's evaluation of the research raises questions about many surgical techniques.

"Not everything that is new is necessarily an improvement," said the Institute's Director, Professor Peter Sawicki. "Better information is necessary to help men and their doctors weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of the various treatments."

To that end, IQWiG has published easy-to-understand summaries of the research in this area on IQWiG's website. It includes information on managing prostate symptoms, medicines and surgical options as well as the stories of men who have used different treatments.

According to researchers' best estimates, about 3 out of every 10 men in Europe will handle their prostate symptoms without medication or surgery and perhaps only 1 in 10 will have surgery. The rest will use medications, including herbal medicines, if their symptoms become too troublesome.

"In Germany and other European countries, drugs called alpha blockers have taken over as the most common treatment choice for benign prostatic hyperplasia," said Sawicki. "These drugs were originally developed to reduce high blood pressure, but prostate symptoms will also improve at least a little for 60 percent of the men who use them."

In analyzing the research results for surgery, the Institute concluded that the original surgical procedures still have the best results. A few of the new surgical techniques appear to have good results -- for example, possibly shortening the time needed in the hospital. But more research is needed to confirm this. And most of the new techniques use equipment that has not yet been tested in enough trials.

"Prostate surgery can be very effective, but the adverse effects are a major concern for many men. Some of the newer techniques might have fewer adverse effects, but they may be so much less effective that the symptoms return, as bad as ever, within a couple of years," Sawicki said.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Share		Follow us on Twitter.