Enlarged prostates: The choice of treatment needs careful con...( This release is available in Fo...),Health

In the last few years, the treatment options for prostate problems have expanded. The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has assessed new treatments and warns that some new surgical techniques are being heavily promoted without first having been adequately evaluated.

For many men, the symptoms of this condition are just annoying. But for some men, an enlarged prostate means going to the toilet so often that a good night's sleep has become a thing of the past. Most of the time the cause is an enlarged prostate, a condition doctors call "benign prostatic hyperplasia". One in five men in their 50s are affected - and the majority of men in their 70s will have symptoms.

The treatment choices have greatly expanded in recent years. However IQWiG's evaluation of the research raises questions about many surgical techniques. According to the Institute's Director, Professor Peter Sawicki, "Not everything that is new is necessarily an improvement. Better information is necessary to help men and their doctors weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of the various treatments."

To that end, IQWiG has published easy-to-understand summaries of the research in this area on IQWiG's website for the public, www.informedhealthonline.org. Included is information on managing prostate symptoms, medicines and surgical options as well as the stories of men who have used different treatments.

According to researchers' best estimates, about 3 out of every 10 men in Europe will handle their prostate symptoms without medication or surgery and perhaps only 1 in 10 will have surgery. The rest will use medications, includ
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