Treatment For Prostate Cancer Relapse Linked To Marital Status

A team of researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia report that single men who have a relapse of prostate cancer may not turn up to seek fresh treatment.

The findings of the study were presented on the behalf of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group by Dr. Andre Konski at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiation and Oncology annual meeting that is in progress in Denver. Researchers at the Fox Chase Cancer Center analyzed the data of various men who returned for radiation therapy for metastatic prostate cancer. They looked for the outcomes keeping in mind the marital status of the men. Konski said that single men were unlikely to return for retreatment.

"We need to come up with strategies to support them, such as nurse follow-up and patient navigators who can help them through the healthcare system," he added. He also observed that the trend might have something to do with the fact that single men have markedly less social support and encouragement to seek treatment. "We are just starting to scratch the surface of this population as far as what they need or their attitudes," Konski said adding that these findings presented a case for instituting an aggressive therapy the first time around in men whose prostate cancer was likely to relapse.