Review

Active Surveillance: Treatment Modality that Expect Attention for Localized Prostate Cancer

  • Tayyar Alp Özkan
  • Özdal Dillioğlugil

Bull Urooncol 2014;13(1):41-45

Although Prostate cancer (PCa) is the 2nd most common cancer diagnosed in men, it is the 6th cause of cancer death. PCa frequency increased with using PSA in daily clinical practice. Early detection of localized PCa led to new methods for treatment and follow-up. Active surveillance (AS) is not a definitive treatment option. It is an efficient follow-up protocol equipped with strict criteria which aims delayed treatment with postponing treatment related untoward effects at a time when it is not too late. AS helps to protect clinical insignificant PCa patients against definitive treatment morbidity, mortality and impaired quality of life. Results of long-term studies are not available yet. Therefore, AS has been advocated based on the results of some epidemiological studies and evidence. However, level of evidence is not sufficient yet.For this reason it should be advised selectively tolow-risk PCa patients with appropriate information. There are many different options proposed by different centers in terms of patient selection and follow-up criteria. Long-term follow-up and randomized studies are needed to decide which of these patient selection criteria should be used. Safer and more precise selection criteria will be started to use in the future with the light shed by the increasing number of publications. We believe that Urooncology society executed multicenter AS studies are going to contribute to good progress in our country.

Keywords: prostate cancers, active surveillance, prostate specific antigen