Active surveillance compared with initial treatment for men with low-risk prostate cancer: a decision analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Context

In the United States, 192,000 men were diagnosed as having prostate cancer in 2009, the majority with low-risk, clinically localized disease. Treatment of these cancers is associated with substantial morbidity. Active surveillance is an alternative to initial treatment, but long-term outcomes and effect on quality of life have not been well characterized.

Objective

To examine the quality-of-life benefits and risks of active surveillance compared with initial treatment for men with low-risk, clinically localized prostate cancer.

Design and setting

Decision analysis using a simulation model was performed: men were treated at diagnosis with brachytherapy, intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), or radical prostatectomy or followed up by active surveillance

SUBMITTER: Hayes JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3055173 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature