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©2013 UpToDate ® Print Email The advantages of the main treatment options for early prostate cancer External beam radiation therapy (EBRT) Cancer can be controlled long-term Very low risk of urinary incontinence (leaking urine) Can be used to cure men of nearly any age, even men who have underlying medical problems Good chance for a cure in men with high-risk prostate cancer when combined with androgen deprivation therapy Treatments can get rid of cancer cells that have grown through the covering of the prostate (called the prostate capsule) Brachytherapy Chance of controlling cancer similar to surgery (prostatectomy) and EBRT for men whose cancer has not spread outside the prostate Quicker than EBRT (single treatment) Risk of leaking urine is low as long as the man has not had previous prostate surgery Can be used to cure men of nearly any age, even in men who have certain underlying medical problems Radical prostatectomy Cancer can be controlled long-term Can predict chance of cure and risk that cancer will come back more precisely than other types of treatment Nearby lymph nodes can be examined and removed (if needed) during surgery Active surveillance ("watch and wait") Reduces the chance that you will get unnecessary treatment Avoids or delays complications that can happen during treatment Has no effect on work or social activities Reproduced with permission from: Vogelzang NJ, Scardino PT, Shipley WU, et al. Comprehensive textbook of genitourinary oncology, 3rd Edition. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 2005. Copyright © 2005 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.