Although the tables are an averages thing and updated, it is still useful as a tool in predictive information. You have to remember how bizzaro PCa is, it is really non-specific from every angle:
psa tests (not reliable enough), biopsies no matter how many you get (not realiable enough), assessment on pathologies (varies hugely depending upon whom does it)...so what gleasons-percentages of cancer-perinerual invasion etc.- can be mis-interpretted, also there are atleast 18 variant types of PCa (see Bostwick Labs etc.)...so which one(s) do you have to deal with?; then there is the issue of micro-mets (see Dr. Barkens words)-whom the heck can tell you it is contained with absolute certainty?????? Then comes the decisions of multitude of treatment options to consider and basically no warranties on them.
Also, their are Narayan tables and I think Bluestein tables if someone wishes to look at other stuff and of course the nomograms for predictive outcomes for surgery etc. You might as well look at everything and get all the assessments you can get before choosing your protocol is probably decent advice.
Always get second opinions on any major treatment consideration, is a good idea.
Also you mentioned that your doc or such, said they don't look at Partin tables etc. (out dated etc.-?). Surgeons don't wish to look at them as they also are selling you a treatment thus they are highly biased (also believing their method is the "only" method in many cases), there is alot of agenda and b.s. out there sold to us patients on any medical treatment these days (beware). I had 8 opinions, two from surgeons that were just days apart in their assessment, what was the verbage?
Doc "A" yeah curative and 1% chance of incontinence and wrote it on paper and handed it to me (talk about sales pitch). Doc "B" Dr. Menon (DaVinci-specialist) honestly told me I will not do surgery on you (my numbers are higher end and ridiculous), thus an honest doc gave me the heads up...why get it done for nothing but some elses profit as a motive and he did not want the money. Now alot of people might have said yes to doc "A" as he said curative and 1% chance of incontinence. Then after getting 6 more alternative opinions you can clearly see what is going on in "sales" for the treatment world side of PCa, I saw it first hand, bias, sales pitches, even lying (it was not pretty to witness).
PCa- aka-the jungle, twilight zone, land of bizzaro, full of mine fields (you decide)
Post Edited (zufus) : 7/25/2009 7:34:41 AM (GMT-6)