The aggressive treatment of detected prostate tumors -in patients of that age group- have minimum effect in their survival, and the quality of life gets remarkably worse, indicated the results according to the investigation.

Routine controls often detect the localized prostate cancer. But due to the characteristic slow growth of these tumors, traditional knowledge still indicates that even if they are not treated, older men -who have the disease detected- are more inclined to die with the cancer than because of it.

This, along with risks of the aggressive treatment against prostate tumors, questions the value of these controls in older male adults.

The study , published in the Journal of American Medicine, was carried out by a team directed by Doctor Richard M. Hoffman, of the New Mexico VA Health Care System, evaluated the results of 465 men of 75 to 84 years that had received invasive or conservative treatment against prostate cancer.

The 175 men of the first group received the invasive treatment with either prostate surgery or radiation administered to them.

In the meantime, the group that received conservative therapy included 290 remaining patients, to whom no hormonal therapy or treatment was administered to them.

According to the results of the investigation, the invasive treatment influenced very little the patient's survival rate.

The absolute difference of survival to the disease to the 5 years was similar in both groups studied.

Also, and in agreement with previous studies, the cause of most of the deaths (80 percent) was not prostate cancer.

The follow-up during two years' demonstrated that the invasive treatment tended to influence more negatively the quality of life -of the patients- than the conservative therapy.

Compared with those who they were put under conservative therapies, those that received invasive treatment were almost three times more prone to inform about daily urinary losses and to complain about sexual problems, and they had five times more probabilities of undergoing other urinary upheavals.

'Most professional organizations, even those that endorse the prostate cancer routine controls, recommend that perhaps we should not examine men over 75', said Hoffman.

'The men who had received invasive treatment finished with a great amount of sexual and urinary problems' when compared to those who received conservative therapy, and with little or no benefit in survival, added the investigator.

'We think that this reinforces the idea that in the older male adults the control should be carried out with much care ", added Hoffman.

'No evidence exists that routine prostate cancer control are beneficial in older men and now we are finding proofs that the are producing damage' concluded the specialist.