Prostate cancer is estimated to be diagnosed this year in approximately 200,000 men in the U.S. It will account for about 27,000 deaths this year. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S. after skin cancer. It is more common in men as they age and affects more African American men than Caucasians or Hispanics. If you have a brother, father or cousins with this disease you are at an increased risk for developing prostate cancer.
Treatment options for prostate cancer will depend on the stage and grade of prostate cancer i.e. (local or metastatic, associated co morbidities or illnesses and the patient’s own wishes for treatment. Today there are numerous treatment options available to men including surgery, (robotic, open or laparoscopic), cryotherapy, radiation therapy ( brachytherapy, imrt, igrt), hormone therapy, high intensity focused ultrasound (hifu) and watchful waiting.
Today the estimated number of robotic prostatectomies performed for 2009 will be approximately 60,000. The new use of this technique has been fueled by the 3 dimensional magnified imaging, and excellent instruments that improve and simplify the techniques learned in both open and laparoscopic surgery.
Most importantly the technique of robotic prostatectomy using the da Vinci system has justified its use when the criteria of cancer control, urinary continence and potency have been taken into account. It now appears that robotic surgery may represent the gold standard of treatment for localized prostate cancer as we move forward.
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