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Why it's done
By Mayo Clinic staffActive surveillance may be appropriate for you if:
- The cancer is detected early, while it's still small and limited to one area of your prostate.
- Your Gleason score is low (usually between 2 and 5), which indicates a less aggressive, slower growing (indolent) form of cancer.
- You have other advanced health problems, such as severe heart disease, that limit your life expectancy and that could potentially be made worse by treatment of prostate cancer.
- You're older, making it less likely that more aggressive prostate cancer treatment will extend your life expectancy. (It's difficult to give an exact age at which active surveillance is appropriate, though. Talk to your doctor about what's right in your situation.)
References
- Expectant management (watchful waiting) and active surveillance. American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/ProstateCancer/DetailedGuide/prostate-cancer-treating-watchful-waiting. Accessed Dec. 8, 2010.
- Treating prostate cancer: A guide for men with localized prostate cancer. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. http://www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/index.cfm/search-for-guides-reviews-and-reports/?pageaction=displayproduct&productID=98. Accessed Dec. 8, 2010.
- Snyder CF, et al. How does initial treatment choice affect short-term and long-term costs for clinically localized prostate cancer? Cancer. 2010;116:5391.
- Active surveillance. Prostate Cancer Foundation. http://www.pcf.org/site/c.leJRIROrEpH/b.5813295/k.FA2E/Active_Surveillance.htm. Accessed Dec. 8, 2010.
- Coen JJ, et al. Watchful waiting for localized prostate cancer in the PSA era: What have been the triggers for intervention? BJU International. In press. Accessed Dec. 8, 2010.
- Early prostate cancer. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Detection/early-prostate. Accessed Dec. 8, 2010.
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