Avoiding ‘Unnecessary’ Treatment for Prostate Cancer
27th April 2005 - Early results of a study run by Dr Chris Parker suggest that many men with prostate cancer can safely avoid the need for treatment with a new approach to prostate cancer management called 'Active Surveillance'.
Active Surveillance aims to individualise therapy by selecting only those men with significant cancers for curative therapy. Patients on Active Surveillance are closely monitored using serum PSA levels with or without repeat prostate biopsies.The choice between radical treatment and observation is based on evidence of disease progression defined in terms of the rate of rise of PSA or ‘the results of repeat biopsies.
In the study, eighty men whose cancers were detected early as a result of prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing were managed by Active Surveillance. Only 14 per cent of patients had received any treatment for their cancer, which means that the remainder have avoided the risks of treatment side-effects, such as impotence and incontinence. To date, no patients have had any symptoms from their cancer, and there has been no evidence of metastatic disease.
Find out more about about Dr Parker's research
