Prostate Cancer Treatment - ABC 33/40 - Birmingham News, Weather, Sports

New information may change the way doctors treat men with prostate cancer.

Treatment usually leads to surgical removal of the prostate gland.

However, researchers say, it may be time to change that practice.

Urologist, Dr. Eric Klein says, "Men with low-risk tumors, by and large, do not have lethal tumors and probably don't need to be treated and they don't benefit from treatment and they should not be treated. Men with intermediate to high-risk tumors do have potentially life-threatening tumors and should be treated."

In a study of more than 700 men with prostate cancer, half the patients were treated with surgery; half were not.

After 12 years, the percentage of deaths among the men seem to be ''even''.

Experts say surgery does not always significantly reduce ''all cause'' or prostate cancer deaths.