LOS ANGELES, April 24 The main options for prostate cancer -- surgery, radiation seeds or radiation -- rank about the same in survival outcomes, finds a U.S. study."The good news is that overall mental and physical well-being were not profoundly affected by any of the three treatment choices," study lead author Dr. Mark Litwin of the University of California said in a statement. "That's good news for men with the sword of prostate cancer hanging over their heads. In general, they'll be OK no matter which of the three options they choose." However, the study, scheduled to be published in the June 1 issue of the journal Cancer, also found three treatment options did negatively affect quality of life -- at least temporarily.The study, which that tracked 580 men for five years, found that brachytherapy, or radiation seeds, and those with external beam radiation, often experienced frequency of urination, urinary irritation and bowel dysfunction.Surgery patients more often reported incontinence symptoms such as urine leakage when coughing or sneezing as well as loss of sexual dysfunction, although this was mitigated when the surgeon was able to spare the patient's erectile nerves, according to Litwin.Copyright 2007 by UPI
