For prostate cancer, this tissue is obtained via needle biopsy through the rectum or urethra. If disease is found then they are assigned a Gleason score as mentioned above and are worked up to see if the cancer has spread elsewhere through a barrage of tests. Treatment options vary and the growing literature is reporting that most therapeutic modalities for prostate cancer are comparable. Prostatectomy, or removal of the prostate via surgery, is performed in patients who desire it and in whom surgery is not contraindicated. Typically, a patient with at least a 10-15 year remaining life expectancy will be advised to have surgery.
Complications can include urinary incontinence, urinary tract infections, and impotence.
Rates of these complications vary based on techniques and skills of the surgeon. Another treatment option is the use of radiation therapy to eradicate tumor cells. Radiation therapy can be curative as well and is reporting to have similar 5-year survival rates. In addition, the side effects of radiation therapy do not usually include impotence. A variant form of radiation therapy is called interstitial seed implantation.