Active surveillance has been proposed as a management option that reduces the risk of overtreatment in patients diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer. However, up until now, this approach has not been tested in a prospective, randomized fashion. The PROTECT study confirms that patients diagnosed with prostate cancer through prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening are at a very low risk of cancer-related mortality, but patients undergoing active surveillance do have an increased risk of disease progression and metastases compared with those managed with upfront therapy.
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Saad, F. Screening and treatment: where do we go from here?. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 14, 7–8 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2016.189
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2016.189
