Description: MONDAY, Oct. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Surgery may offer the best chance of long-term survival for prostate cancer patients, a Swiss study suggests.

Researchers at Geneva University found that prostate cancer patients who had surgery were less likely to die of the disease within 10 years than men who had other types of treatment. Surgery seemed especially beneficial for younger patients or those who had prostate cancer with certain tumor cell characteristics.

The study, reported in the Oct. 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, included 844 men with localized prostate cancer. Of those, 158 had prostatectomy (surgery to remove part or all of the prostate); 205 had radiation treatment (radiotherapy); 378 chose watchful waiting (monitoring and treatment if the disease progresses); 72 had hormone therapy; and 31 had another type of therapy.

Ten-year survival rates were 83 percent for prostatectomy, 75 percent for radiotherapy; 72 percent for watchful waiting, 41 percent for hormon