The most common therapies for prostate cancer are surgical removal of the entire prostate gland, radiation treatment, and hormonal therapy.

All of these are highly effective, however, they can often lead to serious side effects that can downgrade quality of life by making erections difficult to achieve and causing loss of nightly urinary control.

A longtime treatment for common prostate diseases as well as baldness may be a treatment in helping prevent prostate cancer in those with high risk, a recent re-examination of a 2003 study shows. ( N Engl J Med 2003; 349:1569-1572, Oct 16, 2003)

The study was one of the largest of it's kind, performed on almost 19,000 men over the course of 7.

There is one fact regarding prostate cancer treatment that a majority of doctor's who treat patients with prostate cancer all agree upon. Early detection of the disease can offer a patient's best chance for effective treatment and cure. One of the reasons that prostate cancer claims so many victims is that all too often, the disease is detected only after it has reached advanced stages.

In July, 2008, British researchers claimed to have won a major victory for prostate cancer treatment. According to recently release reports, a new drug, abiraterone, may be used to treat as many as 80% of patients suffering from advanced forms of prostate cancer.

Researchers worldwide involved in the treatment of prostate cancer are cautiously optimistic, and welcoming what may arguably be the best news in prostate cancer treatment research in the past 15 years.

A new study published in the September 2008 issue of CANCER from the American Cancer Society, has determined that as many as 69% of men receiving hormone deprivation therapy, a widely used treatment for patients with advanced prostate cancer, may experience detrimental effects to their cognitive abilities. According to Dr. Christian Nelson, there is strong evidence that hormone deprivation therapy is linked to "subtle but significant cognitive decline in men with prostate cancer".

A recent study has revealed a racial disparity in prostate cancer treatment of patients in the U.S.

The study, conducted in 2007 and reported in the Journal of Urology earlier this year, was led by Dr. Kathryn E. Richert-Boe, of Kaiser Permanente Northwest in Portland, Oregon. It's objectives were to determine whether differences existed in prostate cancer treatment received by white and African American men at a health maintenance organization where access to medical care (was) theoretically equal for all members and, if so, to determine the reasons for these differences.

In July, 2008, the pharmaceutical company Hollis-Eden announced the start of initial phase trials of the drug Apoptone, used in the treatment of late-stage prostate cancer patients for whom hormone therapy and at least one round of chemotherapy have proved ineffective.

Several months prior in April, 2008, Dr. Eva Corey from the University of Washington, presented positive data from a preclinical study of Apotone at the 2008 American Association of Cancer Research in San Diego, California.