Economical impact of orchiectomy for advanced prostate cancer

PURPOSE: To demonstrate the economical impact of surgical castration in comparison to the medical castration for patients with advanced prostate cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Between January 2001 and December 2001, 32 patients with advanced prostate cancer underwent bilateral sub-capsular orchiectomy at our Hospital. The costs of this procedure were compared to the costs of medical castration with LH-RH analogues. RESULTS: The costs of the surgical procedure were extremely reduced when compared to published data on the medical treatment. Surgical castration did not have any stronger negative impact on the evolution of these patients when compared to medical castration. CONCLUSION: Surgical castration is an efficient and low cost treatment for advanced prostate cancer.