Gary Onik, MD

Many of the emerging imaging modalities for prostate cancer were first developed for breast cancer patients and then adapted to the prostate. Clearly, almost all aspects of prostate cancer care and diagnosis lag behind those of breast cancer. Breast cancer researchers have successfully carried out a number of groundbreaking randomized controlled trials to define the best treatment approaches, but prostate cancer has yet to see a successful trial comparing even the major forms of prostate cancer treatment: radical prostatectomy and radiation therapy. Adding to the frustration that prostate patients face when no one can tell them the best approach for treating their cancer, two new primary therapies have been sanctioned by the American Urologic Association: cryotherapy and watchful waiting.