Private MD News

Academic hospitals provide strong prostate cancer surgical care

Category: Prostate

For men who have received high PSA test results indicating they have prostate cancer that requires surgery, having the procedure done at a hospital that is affiliated with a medical university may improve the outcome, according to a new study.

A team of researchers from the Henry Ford Health System analyzed the medical records of 90,000 men who had prostate cancer surgery at a variety of facilities. The results showed that those treated at academic institutions had less need for blood transfusions, fewer postoperative complications and shorter overall hospital stays.

The researchers wrote in their report, which was published in the Journal of Urology, that there may still be many reasons that explain their findings, and that the results of the investigation by no means prove that academic hospitals invariably offer better care.

Still, the fact that their study indicated that these facilities do a better job in a number of areas related to prostate cancer surgery indicates that there may be something to the association. The team recommended that further investigation be conducted to explain the connection.