In a new study, researchers found many men with prostate cancer believe robotic surgery is more effective and better for their health, but there is little evidence about this.
In addition, many patients ignore the different side effects of their treatment options.
The research was conducted by a team from the University of New South Wales, the Ingham Institute and South Western Sydney Local Health District.
Previous studies have shown that men with prostate cancer have several treatment options available to them.
However, these studies often focused on open radical prostatectomy, radiotherapy, and active surveillance, and few of them examined robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy surgery.
The robotic surgery has been used as a way of minimizing side effects of treatment and has become more popular.
But it is expensive and little evidence shows it is better than other treatments.
In the current study, the team examined why so many men diagnosed with prostate cancer chose to have a robotic prostatectomy.
They examined 25 men recently diagnosed with localized prostate cancer.
These men completed semi-structured interviews, which asked about information and decision-making needs before and/or after attending a clinic.
They found most of the patients preferred robotic prostatectomy over radiation therapy pre-clinic and chose it afterward.
They believed that robotic surgery provided a more definitive cure than radiotherapy.
In addition, they cared little about the different side effects of robotic prostatectomy and radiotherapy.
Their decisions were largely based on clinicians’ recommendations. But in fact, these men need more balanced and complete information about different treatment options.
The researchers suggest that men with prostate cancer need to be better informed about all their treatment options.
This is very important for them to make a sound decision, which will have significant effects on their quality of life.
The team warns that this study is small in its sample size and research with a larger sample size is needed in the future.
The lead author of the study is Dr. Ben Smith, Co-Deputy Director of UNSW’s Centre for Oncology Education and Research Translation (CONCERT) at the Ingham Institute.
The study is published in Patient Education and Counseling
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