Prostatic cancer. An overview

Reliable study results are scarce in prostate cancer for several reasons. The treated tumors represent a wide variety of natural history and therapeutic response. One assumes to select 'soft' or minimally toxic treatment for patients with good prognostic factors while aggressive treatment is reserved for infaust prognosis. Stage, grade and prognostic factors may influence the indication and choice of treatment. Better treatment selection will depend on the outcome of actual ongoing randomized trials, the development of new drugs or existing drugs in new indications and, above all, basic studies on the growth potential and invasiveness of the prostate cancer cell. Defining the correct treatment for the right cancer in the right patient is our clinical challenge for the next decade.