Active surveillance for prostate cancer: a review

Active surveillance is a solution to the widely acknowledged problem of overdiagnosis and overtreatment of clinically insignificant disease which accompanies early detection of prostate cancer using PSA and biopsy. It is an approach to the management of favorable risk prostate cancer which uses the opportunity provided by the long natural history of the disease to incorporate a period of initial observation into patient management. In this review article, the rationale, criteria for patient selection, method of follow up, trigger for intervention, and results of active surveillance are reviewed.