[Benign hypertrophy of the prostate: which treatment, for whom?]

Approximately 25% of men over 40 or 50 suffer from lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) caused by benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The bothersomeness of the symptoms varies considerably from one individual to the other and can fluctuate with time. Symptoms tend to gradually worsen as time goes on through. Surprisingly, there appears to be no particular relationship between symptoms and the overall prostate size and weight. Symptoms of BPH are divided in obstructive (voiding) and irritative (storage) symptoms, of which the irritative are the most bothersome. Until recently, surgery (open or transurethral resection) was the only treatment option. Nowadays, a range of less invasive treatments and pharmacological therapies are available to relieve BPH symptoms. Finasteride, for instance, reduces the prostate size by blocking 5-alpha-reductase, the enzyme which plays a role in the growth of the prostate. It takes however a long time before a clinically significant effect is noticed: +/- 6 to 12 months. Then, there are alpha 1-blockers. These agents result in relaxation of prostatic and bladder neck smooth muscle. alpha 1-blockers act relatively fast. Most alpha 1-blockers used in the treatment of symptomatic BPH were originally developed to treat hypertension. The adverse events most commonly associated with alpha 1-blockers, such as dizziness, headache, asthenia, tachycardia/palpitation, postural hypotension and syncope are possibly related to the blood pressure lowering effect. This stimulated the search for more selective alpha-blockers which act predominantly on the prostate and have less effect on the blood levels (afluzosin: Xatral and tamsulosin: Omic). Presently, alpha-blockers have become the first-line drugs in the medical treatment of symptomatic BPH. Surgery (open or TURP) is limited to patients with recurrent infections, large residue (> 200 ml), recurrent hematuria, bladder stones. New alternative and minimally invasive treatment such as TUNA generate necrotic lesions within the prostate through needle introduced endoscopically. This leads also to marked improvement in patients symptomatology.