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NCCN Updates Prostate Cancer Guidelines

JENKINTOWN, Pa., January 29, 2007 — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) announces updates to the NCCN Prostate Cancer Guidelines. The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology™ are widely recognized and applied as the standard for clinical care in oncology in both the community practice setting and in academic cancer centers.

The panel of expert physicians from NCCN Member Institutions revised their recommendations regarding pelvic lymph node dissection. Robotic techniques are now accepted for both pelvic lymph node dissection and radical prostatectomy. According to the panel, in experienced hands, the results of this approach appear comparable to open surgical techniques.

In addition, the guidelines now include a Principles of Life Expectancy Estimation section. Life expectancy is the basis of the initial clinical assessment and is critical to informed decision making in prostate cancer early detection and treatment. The combination of risk of recurrence and life expectancy estimation is a deciding factor for initial therapy.

The panel also recommends that bisphosphonate therapy should be considered in patients with castration-recurrent metastatic prostate cancer since it may prevent skeletal-related events and improve bone mineral density.

NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology™ are developed and updated continuously through a consensus-driven process with explicit review of the scientific evidence. The most recent version of this and all the guidelines are available free of charge at www.nccn.org.