[Prostate cancer: interpretation of management guidelines]

The guidelines of the urological and oncological societies reflect the different possible interpretations of evidence-based medicine, as well as the medical and economical, or even medico-legal constraints in the various countries. Essentially, the guidelines of the American Urological Association seem to be focused on the medico-legal aspects, and offer urologists a wide range of treatment options through each stage of the disease. The recommendations of the British National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) focus heavily on the medical and economic aspects and the risk-benefit ratio, whereas in those of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) overall survival is the main criteria. The French and European recommendations (Association française d'urologie [AFU] and European Association of Urology [EAU]) are almost equivalent, except for a few minor differences, and strongly reflect the recommendations of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN).