We often hear of physicians who question the use of, for example, 5Alpha Reductase (5AR) inhibitors (dutasteride/Avodart or finasteride/Proscar), in androgen/hormonal deprivation therapy for advanced or recurring prostate cancer. They claim that they follow only “Evidence Based Medicine.” Those physicians who involve themselves in research and study of various medications that can be effective in the treatment of recurring or advanced prostate cancer determine “their own” evidence, rather than only read or listen to those who merely follow “old evidence” (granted, reasonably effective, but not as effective as that having been determined by prostate cancer specialists). Medical Oncologists and Urologists who are providing general cancer treatment, but not specializing in the treatment of prostate cancer, should keep in contact with and review papers authored by their colleagues who are specialists “specifically” in prostate cancer treatment (these specialists make presentations on the latest in treatment methods gleaned from their own research, study, and administration every September at the Prostate Cancer Research Institute (PCRI) Annual Conference on Prostate Cancer held in Los Angeles). It would behoove all physicians treating prostate cancer to attend one of these annual PCRI conferences as well as avail themselves of the material available on the website of PCRI, specifically the PCRI Insights Newsletters https://pcri.org/insights-newsletter, to keep them more and better in touch with the latest methods of treating recurring or advanced prostate cancer. Prostate cancer patients and their caregivers also have free access to the important information found in the Insights Newsletters.
Evidence Based Medicine will likely continue to be the safe road to travel for those physicians who, because of their daily workload, may not have time to involve themselves in research specifically regarding prostate cancer; but Evidence Based Medicine can be trumped by physicians who go those extra steps in research and study to determine the importance and usefulness of medications they then include in protocols determined to be more effective for their patients.
