Active Surveillance - Potential Alternative to Radical Prostate Cancer Treatment?
Most cases of prostate cancer grow so slowly that they would never require treatment. However, it is not currently possible to predict accurately how prostate cancer will develop in each individual, so treatment has typically been offered in all cases. Institute scientist Dr Chris Parker has initiated a trial of a new prostate cancer management technique called `Active Surveillance'.
Over three hundred men have been enrolled in the trial in which patients with untreated prostate cancer are closely monitored with serum PSA levels and repeat prostate biopsies. The choice between radical treatment and continued observation is based on evidence of disease progression.
Encouraging preliminary results were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Prostate Cancer Symposium in Feb 2006, and longer term outcomes are eagerly awaited.
Read more about Chris Parker's research at The Institute of Cancer Research
