Treatment Comparison
Confidence in Knowing Your Status
For localized prostate cancer removing the prostate through radical prostatectomy has traditionally been considered the definitive way to treat the cancer.1
Removing the cancerous prostate lets your doctor see the extent and nature of the cancer. This step can be critical: In clinical studies,up to 35% of tumors are undergraded; in other words, they are more aggressive than the pre-surgery assessment and biopsy results indicated.2
Margin status refers to whether or not there is cancer present at the very edge (the margin) of the removed prostate gland. A negative margin means that all edges of the prostate are free from cancer cells. A negative margin is a good indicator that all of the cancer has been removed.
This guide was designed to provide patients with information on the surgical treatment of prostate cancer, which can be performed in a very precise, minimally invasive manner using the da Vinci® Surgical System.
Surgery: Preserving Your Options
Choosing surgery over radiation can make it easier for your doctor to detect a cancer recurrence, through careful PSA* monitoring, after a radical prostatectomy than after radiation therapy.3 It can also help preserve your radiation treatment options if your cancer returns. After radiation therapy, there may be damage to the tissue surrounding the prostate. If you have tissue damage, nerve-sparing surgery may no longer be an option should your cancer recur. However, radiation usually remains an option for patients who have had surgery to treat their prostate cancer.4