BMJ Group blogs: BMJ » Blog Archive » Richard Lehman’s journal review – 8 August 2011

BMJ Group blogs: BMJ » Blog Archive » Richard Lehman’s journal review – 15 August 2011

BMJ Group blogs: BMJ » Blog Archive » Richard Lehman’s journal review – 23 August 2011

BMJ Group blogs: BMJ » Blog Archive » Richard Lehman’s journal review – 30 August 2011

I recently shocked an audience of young doctors by stating that my chance at 61 of having localised prostate cancer stood at about 25%. Since then I have looked at various sources (including Overdiagnosed) and found that according to one study of prostates examined histologically after traumatic death, the true figure may be 60%. So if a urologist decided to do some transrectal biopsies on me and hit the right/wrong spot, I might well have a cancer diagnosis. So what would then be the best nonsurgical management strategy – leave alone, local radiotherapy (brachytherapy), or external beam radiotherapy? The conclusion of this systematic review of different modes of radiotherapy for localised prostate cancer is that nobody actually knows. A most reassuring fact to share with your patients.