Prostate cancer: Diagnosis and treatment
This is an extract from the guidance and may be misleading if read alone. The complete guidance is available at guidance.nice.org.uk/cg58
Introduction
Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men. Every year there are 34,986 new cases in England and Wales and 10,000 deaths[1]. Prostate cancer is predominantly a disease of older men but around 20% of cases occur in men under the age of 65 years. Over the past 10 to 15 years there have been a number of significant advances in prostate cancer management but also a number of major controversies, especially about the clinical management of men with early, non-metastatic disease. These uncertainties clearly cause anxieties for men with prostate cancer and their families. There is evidence of practice variation around the country and of patchy availability of certain treatments and procedures. A clinical guideline will help to address these issues and offer guidance on best practice.
The guideline assumes that prescribers will use a drug's summary of product characteristics to inform their decisions for individual patients.
Definitions used in this guideline are provided in appendix D.