The trend of managing prostate cancer in Taiwan

Background: The purpose of this study is to investigate the current trends of Taiwanese urologists in managing prostate cancer (CaP). This will help us to establish our own consensus and recommend appropriate treatment options to the related patients. Methods: From November 2000 to April 2001, a questionnaire concerning the alertness of detecting CaP, diagnostic tools used for establishing the staging of CaP before radical surgery, the tolerated age for surgery and the use of hormone therapy for advanced CaP was mailed to the 465 urologists in active practice in the Taiwan area. Results: A total of 240 (51.6%) physicians responded to our questionnaire. 89.1% of the respondents would add serum prostatic-specific antigen (PSA) to detect suspected malignancy during the work-up for benign prostatic hyperplasia in their daily practice. About three quarters of the respondents adopted free/total PSA in assisting the decision for prostate biopsy. 78% require a bone scan before radical surgery even when PSA is less than 10 ng/mL and the age tolerated for radical surgery is 75 years. 60.8% still believed that maximal androgen blockade is effective for advanced CaP. Conclusions: The trend of treating CaP provides a useful insight into the variations in clinical practice of Taiwanese urologists and may help to develop a more widely accepted guideline by our urological community.