Watchful Waiting/Active Sur. Article

Beau2
Beau2 Member Posts: 261
in Prostate Cancer #1
A link to an article on WW/AS. The article did not add a lot of new information on the subject; however, I did find the discussions that followed very interesting.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/23/choosing-watchful-waiting-for-prostate-cancer/

Comments

  • mrspjd
    mrspjd Member Posts: 694 Member
    #2
    AS/M
    What is missing from and not discussed in the article are the parameters for defining which men dx'd with "low risk" PCa (and confirmed by an EXPERT 2nd opinion bx pathology specimen analysis) might be the best candidates for AS/M. Following is info which addresses that and other aspects of Active Surveillance/Monitoring (AS/M):

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/20800964/
    "Careful selection and close monitoring of low-risk prostate cancer patients on active surveillance minimizes the need for treatment."

    "BACKGROUND: With the advent of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening and the increase in the number of transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy cores, there has been a dramatic rise in the incidence of low-risk prostate cancer (LRPC). Because > 97% of men with LRPC are likely to die of something other than prostate cancer, it is critical that patients give thought to whether early curative treatment is the only option at diagnosis."

    "CONCLUSIONS: If guidelines for AS are narrowly defined to include only patients with Gleason 6, tumor volume ≤ 20% in one or two biopsy cores, and PSA levels ≤ 10, few patients are likely to require treatment. Progression-free survival of those treated is likely to be equivalent to patients with similar clinical findings treated at diagnosis."

    Add'l reading:
    http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/When-to-consider-active-surveillance.htm
    http://www.nih.gov/news/health/dec2011/od-07.htm

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