New research on active surveillance

Active surveillance – monitoring rather than treating prostate cancer that hasn’t spread – is a good approach for men under 60 as well as older men, according to new research in the Journal of Urology.

The study is significant because previous studies have indicated that younger men and their families are anxious that active surveillance may not be advantageous over time.

The American study compared two groups of men with low volume, low risk prostate cancer. One group began active surveillance when they were younger than 60 years and the other began when they were 60 or older. After six years, the investigators found no significant difference in progression-free survival, treatment-free survival, metastasis-free survival or prostate cancer specific survival.

The authors, from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, conclude: “Active surveillance is a safe and effective approach which spares any properly selected men younger than 60 years with low risk prostate cancer from intervention, provides adequate time for intervention if required, and shows durable disease specific survival.”