Dr. Yuh on Outcomes Between RT and Surgery in Prostate Cancer

Bertram Yuh, MD, an assistant clinical professor of Urologic Oncology and a urologic oncology surgeon at City of Hope, compares the outcomes with surgery and radiation treatment in patients with localized prostate cancer. Yuh shared this insight in an interview during the 2016 OncLive State of the Science Summit on GU Cancer.

It is very difficult to compare radiation therapy and surgery in a clinical trial, Yuh explains. This is because, he adds, it is challenging to tell a patient they are going to undergo surgery instead of radiation therapy, or vice versa.

Because of this, Yuh observed that patients who undergo surgery have different characteristics than patients who undergo radiation treatments. Although it is difficult to compare them both side by side, he adds that both treatments are effective and play a major role in the management of patients.

There may be certain patients who would be better served by 1 treatment or another, depending on their individual biases. Additionally, there are some patients who may be against surgery or radiation therapy, for example. Therefore, it is important for oncologists to be aware of patient preferences.