Active surveillance in low-risk prostate cancer. Patient acceptance and results

Objectives To evaluate the acceptance of active monitoring by patients treated in our healthcare community and to report the clinical results of an active surveillance program in patients with low-risk prostate cancer. Materials and methods Prospective study of patients enrolled in an active surveillance program at our center between 2004 and 2012. The inclusion criteria were PSA Results In 2011, only 17% of the total number of potential candidate patients rejected their inclusion in a surveillance program and were treated actively. We analyzed a series of 144 patients included in our active surveillance protocol. The mean follow-up time was 3.22 years (SD 2.08). A total of 110 patients (76.3%) remained under active monitoring, with an estimated median treatment-free survival after diagnosis of 6.9 years (95% CI: 6.2–7.6). The percentage of patients who remained free of treatment at 2 and 5 years was 96.3% (95% CI: 92.8–99.8%) and 70.9% (95% CI: 59.3–85.5%), respectively. Thirty-four patients (23.6%) required curative treatment. The mean time to treatment was 4.6 years (SD 2.3). Conclusions Active surveillance of highly selected patients with low-risk prostate cancer is a valid alternative therapy that is accepted by patients in our community.