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Our Database

What is our database and how does it help you?

Question 19:
What is a prostate cancer computerized database?

Answer:
A computerized data base is a collection of information about all men previously treated for prostate cancer by a doctor using any of the ten treatment methods listed in the introduction. For example, we have treated 11,000 men with prostate cancer with ProstRcision during the past 25 years at RCOG. Before treatment, data is entered on each patient such as PSA, age, prostate biopsy pathology report findings, etc. The second set of information concerns the treatment technique such as number of seeds, radiation dose from the seeds as well as the subsequent IMRT beam radiation for each patient is also entered. Then every six months after treatment, PSA data, urinary and rectal symptoms and other information is entered into the computer for each of the 11,000 men. This information is entered year after year with up to 25 years of data. For more information, contact us to request the RCOG Computerized Database brochure.

Question 20:
How important is a doctor’s computerized database to men with prostate cancer?

Answer:
A database is the foundation of any urologist's or radiation oncologist's practice. The importance of a database to a man with prostate cancer can be summarized by these questions:

  • How does a doctor know how many men he cures of prostate cancer? Unless he keeps up with all men he has treated and enters this information into a database, a doctor cannot calculate his own cure rates.

  • How can a doctor improve his treatment technique and improve his cure rates? With a computerized database, a doctor can examine how he has treated men, compare cure rates and refine his technique. Without a database, he cannot make any improvements.

  • Since prostate cancer varies from patient to patient, how can a doctor vary his treatment according to the extent of a man’s cancer? Depending upon how aggressive and how extensive the cancer is, we can use our database to tailor treatment to each man’s disease. But a doctor cannot tailor treatment to your own case without a database.

  • How can a urologist or radiation oncologist calculate an ICR graph for men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer? He cannot. A computerized database is the key to the management of prostate cancer by any urologist or radiation oncologist.

Question 21:
My urologist does not follow his patients and does not have his own computerized database. He has recommended robotic radical prostatectomy. What should I do?

Answer:
This situation is what men often face. This is what you should do: Ask yourself: “Why do I want to be treated?” Answer: “To be cured.” We will give you a graph of your 10-year Individual Cure Rate with ProstRcision. Ask your urologist for his 10-year ICR graph for you with radical prostatectomy. If he will not, or cannot, give you a 10-year ICR graph, then you must decide between whether you want a proven cure rate with ProstRcision for your own particular case of prostate cancer or if you want to blindly trust your urologist and let him perform surgery on you. Without a 10-year ICR graph, you do not know if radical prostatectomy (the cure with robotic radical is the same as with open radical, see question 87) is the best treatment for you nor do you know how well your urologist cures prostate cancer with radical prostatectomy. Since you will usually get only one chance for cure, to have treatment by a doctor who cannot give you a written 10-year Individual Cure Rate for your particular case of prostate cancer is a big gamble.