Emerging trends in prostate cancer literature: medical progress or marketing hype?

Abstract

Since the introduction of PSA testing, treatment options for clinically localised prostate cancer (PCa) have proliferated. Prostate surgery, hormonal therapy and radiation therapy have rapidly grown in technique and delivery. Deferred intervention in the form of active surveillance or watchful waiting has been widely adopted, while focal therapies using various energy techniques are gaining data as potential alternatives to radical treatment. The medical literature dedicated to PCa treatment has exploded over this period, although an absence of high-quality evidence supporting one method over another is apparent. Consequently, healthcare workers and patients have been inundated with PCa literature, but with little guidance on comparative effectiveness and harms of treatment. This sheer volume of research raises concerns over its true value in improving the treatment and prevention of disease. Is such literature actually beneficial to medical progress, or does it amount to hyperbole and medical hype?