Prostate
Cancer Treatments at UCLA
"Prostate
cancer is the most common cancer diagnosis in American men, with approximately
220,000 new cases expected in the United States this year. Advances in screening
combined with aggressive treatment have led to a 25% decrease in prostate
cancer related death, with a decline from more than 40,000 deaths in the
early 1990s to ~30,000 deaths in 2004. UCLA Urology's Prostate Cancer Program
is recognized internationally as one of the premier prostate programs in
the world and is both for its cutting edge research and clinical programs.
UCLA is one of only 11 centers nationwide recognized as a Center of Excellence
in prostate cancer and is funded by an 11 million dollar "SPORE"
grant from the National Cancer Institute for prostate cancer research.
UCLA's
Prostate Cancer Program is committed to providing the full spectrum of cancer
care for its patients, based on the belief that no single treatment is right
for every individual. For early stage prostate cancer, we offer nerve-sparing
radical prostatectomy, robotically assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy,
permanent and temporary brachytherapy, cryotherapy and external beam radiotherapy
(IMRT). Uniquely, patient care at UCLA is integrated closely with our research
mission in order to advance the state of the art. Examples of this include
the integration of quality of life assessments with treatment for early
stage disease and the availability of clinical trials stemming from UCLA
research and beyond for men with locally advanced and metastatic cancers.
Robotically-assisted
laparoscopic prostatectomy is one of the newest treatment approaches available
for early stage prostate cancer offered at UCLA. It offers the appropriate
candidate a minimally invasive treatment with less blood loss and a more
rapid overall recovery. On the following pages, we describe this procedure
in greater detail, provide information on who are appropriate candidates,
help sort out the proven advantages of this approach from those that are
merely claimed, and describe its place in the overall treatment armemantarium
offered to patients with early stage prostate cancer. "