Imagine facing prostate cancer that has spread beyond the gland. You want the best chance to stay cancer-free for as long as possible. A new look at ten studies asks if adding chemo before surgery helps more than surgery alone. This review covers patients with locally advanced prostate cancer.
The results show promise for keeping the cancer at bay longer. Patients who got chemo before surgery had lower rates of cancer markers returning. They also had fewer cancer cells left at the edge of the removed tissue during the operation. This means the surgery is cleaner.
But the big question of living longer is tricky. While pooled data suggests a survival boost, randomized trials did not confirm this. The benefit appeared mostly in studies without random assignment, which can skew results. We need more proof to know for sure. The evidence for survival is very low quality.
Experts say the evidence for living longer is very weak according to expert ratings. Still, the short-term cancer control looks better in the best trials. Patients should talk to doctors about risks and benefits before deciding on this path. Studies did not report safety data.