Radical prostatectomy reigns supreme

The clinical incidence of prostate cancer continues to increase in the patient population, while the actual mortality has remained relatively low. As clinicians, we struggle to identify those patients who require intervention for their disease and to determine which treatment modality is best. Active surveillance, brachytherapy, external-beam radiation therapy, and surgical radical prostatectomy (RP) are the current options for prostate cancer treatment, each with a distinct impact on a patient's health-related quality of life. We believe that for the majority of patients with organ-confined prostate cancer, RP remains the gold standard with respect to both oncologic success and maximization of quality of life. Herein we discuss the advantages of RP.