Surgery timing and survival rates

This study examined whether a delay between diagnosis and surgery affects survival rates for patients with prostate cancer.

Because a cancer diagnosis can cause a great deal of anxiety, surgical treatment is often begun very quickly. In the United Kingdom, for instance, men diagnosed with prostate cancer will be seen in a hospital setting within two weeks of diagnosis, and a treatment course is decided upon and started within one month. Between 19% and 35% of men under the age of 70 undergo a radical prostatectomy (complete surgical removal of the prostate gland) to remove the tumor. However, this expedited process may lead to patients being treated when watchful waiting (active surveillance) may suffice. As the risk of dying from localized prostate cancer is very low, active surveillance may be a more appropriate course for many men. However, the effects of surveillance on survival rates are still unclear. The current study examined the effect of delaying surgical removal of a prostate tumor on survival rates.

The study analyzed the records of 17,043 prostate cancer patients who underwent a radical prostatectomy within 6 months of diagnosis. The time from diagnosis to surgery and the survival time following surgery were measured. The rates of survival were compared to the survival rates of men of similar age without prostate cancer. The study also took into account the age of the patients and the speed at which the tumors were growing before removal.

The median time from diagnosis to surgery was 95 days. Neither the 5 year survival rates nor the 10 year survival rates of prostate cancer patients significantly differed from those of the general population, and no differences were seen in survival for men who had surgery within three months of diagnosis, versus men who underwent surgery 4 to 6 months following diagnosis.

This study concluded that a delay of 6 months before curative surgery does not affect rates of survival in patients with localized prostate cancer.

The general health, other than the cancer diagnosis, of the patients was not reported in this study. Survival may be better in patients who were in good health prior to developing cancer.

Discuss with your physician the optimal treatment timing for your situation.