Genomics Simplifies the Decision on Prostate Cancer Treatment Options prostate9122

In prostate cancer the question is to treat or not to treat. Some cancers are very aggressive and some are not. A large number of men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer will have treatment because of the angst of the reality that I have cancer and I have to do something about it, and they do. The question is what should I do?

Early diagnosis is the key to success in management. Every year a quarter of a million men in the USA are diagnosed with prostate cancer. A significant number are over-treated, some are under-treated. Genetics deals with looking at a solitary gene and trying to figure out what that one gene does. Genomics is looking at a group of genes and trying to figure out what biological process do these genes influence. The decision regarding prostate cancer treatment ranges from active surveillance to focal therapy to whole gland therapy which can include radiation or radical prostatectomy. Combining clinical information along with genomics provides better insight to allow a man to make an informed decision and put him at ease about his prostate cancer treatment. The material presented in this video, although detailed, provides valuable information worth careful examination.