Patients with prostate cancer can determine their life expectancy with the help of a questionnaire taking minutes.

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Thousands of men could be spared treatment that would change their lives for prostate cancer as a result of a scientific breakthrough.

They can now know how likely they are to die in 10 or 15 years and how much of a treatment will improve their chances of survival.

For a third of prostate cancer patients, about 15,000 men in Britain, the risk of death is so low that the choice to undergo surgery or radiotherapy will bring little benefit.

The decision to continue treatment is now easier after scientists have developed a computer questionnaire.

Thousands of men could be spared from the treatment of prostate cancer that would change their lives after the development of a questionnaire by Cambridge scientists

The questionnaire, which only takes a few minutes and should be completed under the supervision of a doctor, gives men their personal risk of dying from prostate cancer or another illness during the 15 to 15 years. coming years.

They can then see a graph showing their increased chances of survival after treatment.

The results are based on men's stage of cancer, their age and the results of medical tests, and allow them to weigh the benefit obtained in relation to their chances of suffering from erectile dysfunction and incontinence if they undergo surgery.

He could see more men choose "active surveillance," which means that a doctor is watching their prostate cancer closely.

Dr. Vincent Gnanapragasam, of Cambridge University, who participated in the development of the questionnaire, said: "We believe that this tool could significantly reduce the number of unnecessary treatments – and potentially dangerous – that patients receive and save millions of NHS each year.

"It's not about rationing treatments, but about empowering patients and their clinicians to make decisions based on better evidence.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF SURGERY FOR PROSTATE CANCER?

A radical prostatectomy is the surgical removal of your prostate. This treatment is an option to cure prostate cancer that has not spread beyond the prostate or has not spread far.

One trial has shown that the long-term side effects of a radical prostatectomy may include an inability to have an erection and urinary incontinence.

Before receiving treatment, 67% of men said they could get erections firm enough for sex.

When men who underwent radical prostatectomy were asked again after 6 months, the percentage dropped to 12%. After a new request after 6 years, it improved slightly to 17%.

For urinary incontinence, 1% of men reported using absorbent pads before any treatment.

When men who underwent radical prostatectomy were asked again after 6 months, the percentage had increased to 46%. After six years, this percentage had increased to 17%.

In extremely rare cases, problems occurring after surgery can be fatal.

For many men, a radical prostatectomy helps to get rid of cancer cells. However, for about one in three people, cancer cells may not be completely eliminated and may return soon after the operation.

"In some cases, treatment will be the right option, but in many others, patients will want to weigh the benefits of treatment against the risks of side effects."

Prostate cancer is diagnosed in more than 47,000 men each year in Britain and the number of patients is expected to increase by 69% by 2030.

Currently, the NHS classifies men as being at low, medium or high risk for prostate cancer – a measure that, according to the evidence, is accurate only in 60-70% of cases.

The new questionnaire was found to be 84% accurate in predicting the chances of men dying from the disease or other causes. It has been tested on the medical records of more than 10,000 British patients with prostate cancer and 2,546 people residing in Singapore.

The computer algorithm that gives men their chances, and how much treatment improves them, is based on just 10 questions.

Men provide their age, clinical stage of cancer, degree of aggression, medical test results, as well as whether they have recently been hospitalized.

According to the experts, a more personalized assessment was needed because men are more likely to die of "prostate cancer than it is".

The risk of death from prostate cancer may be less than a heart or a fatal stroke if the cancer develops slowly.

Thus, a 72-year-old man with low-grade prostate cancer could have a six percent chance of dying from prostate cancer in a decade, but a 24 percent chance of dying from something else.

A treatment would reduce his prostate mortality to only 3% but would barely reduce his chances of death by 30 to 27%.

The Daily Mail has campaigned for an urgent improvement in prostate cancer treatments, and it is necessary for men to understand better if they are to pursue them. However, for some men, surgery or radiation can save lives.

The research on the PREDICT Prostate Questionnaire, published in the journal PLOS One, was led by Dr. David Thurtle, a University Researcher in Urology at the University of Cambridge.

He said: "To our knowledge, this is the first personalized tool to estimate the overall survival of men after a diagnosis of prostate cancer.

"We hope that it will provide a more accurate and objective estimate to help men make an informed decision when discussing with their consultant."

Researchers who have tested this tool against cancer have found that many overestimate the risk of a man's death from prostate cancer.

WHAT IS PROSTATE CANCER?

How many people is he killing?

Prostate cancer has become a more lethal than breast cancer for the first time, official statistics revealed earlier this year.

More than 11,800 men a year – or one every 45 minutes – are now killed by the disease in Britain, compared to about 11,400 women dying from breast cancer.

This means that prostate cancer is behind the lungs and intestines in terms of the number of people that it kills in Britain. In the United States, the disease kills 26,000 people each year.

Despite this, it receives less than half of the funding for breast cancer research – while treatments for the disease have taken at least a decade behind schedule.

How fast is it developing?

Prostate cancer usually develops slowly, so there is no sign that someone has it for many years, according to the NHS.

If the cancer is at an early stage and does not cause symptoms, a "watchful waiting" or "active surveillance" policy can be adopted.

Some patients can be cured if the disease is treated at an early stage.

But if she is diagnosed at a later stage, once she has spread, she then becomes terminally ill and the treatment relies on symptom relief.

Thousands of men are put off by the search for a diagnosis because of the known side effects of the treatment, including erectile dysfunction.

Tests and treatment

The tests for prostate cancer are random, with specific tools that are just beginning to emerge.

There is no national prostate screening program, the tests being too inaccurate for years.

Doctors have difficulty distinguishing between aggressive and less severe tumors, making it difficult to choose treatment.

Men over the age of 50 are eligible for a "PSA" blood test that gives doctors a rough idea of a patient's risk.

But it is not reliable. Patients who test positive usually receive a biopsy that is not infallible either.

Scientists do not really know what causes prostate cancer, but age, obesity, and lack of exercise are known risks.

Anyone concerned can speak to Prostate Cancer UK's registered nurses on 0800 074 8383 or visit prostatecanceruk.org.

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