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16 January 2011 Study targeting quality of life after robotic assisted surgeryA new study targeting robotic procedures for prostate cancer concuded despite their popularity, when it comes to men's long-term quality of life, patients with earlier stage cancers generally fare better with non-surgical approaches than with surgery. Men with earlier stage prostate cancer have a number of treatment options, from watchful waiting, to radiation therapy to radical prostatectomy. In general, the researchers found, men treated with radioactive seeds tended to fare best in terms of quality of life, based on standardized questionnaires they completed before treatment and periodically for three years afterward. Patients who had received either radioactive seeds or cryotherapy had higher average scores when it came to urinary function, versus men who had either type of surgery. And together, men who had radioactive seed implants or cryotherapy were three times as likely as surgery patients to return to at least 90 percent of their pre-treatment score for urinary function. When it came to sexual function, radioactive seed patients reported a greater quality of life than those who had received any of the other three treatments. Three years after treatment, radioactive seed patients' scores for sexual function and "bother" -- the degree to which they thought their sexual side effects were a problem -- were higher than they were before treatment. The study doesn't tell patients what's right for everyone and men still have to talk with their doctors about which treatment might be best for them. The study also did not look at the four treatments' effectiveness against the cancer, but other research has suggested that surgery is more effective than radioactive seeds. As for the lack of difference between open and robotic surgery, study suggests that while there are advantages to the robotic procedure - including far less blood loss during surgery and shorter hospital stays - that may not necessarily translate into better long-term quality of life. In contrast, scores remained below pre-treatment levels for men in each of the other treatment groups. Cryosurgery patients had the poorest scores long term. Researchers say the findings, reported in the Journal of Urology, offer men more information to consider when deciding on prostate cancer treatment. 
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