Active surveillance in prostate cancer: patient selection and triggers for intervention

The long-term safety and effectiveness of active surveillance depends on our ability to select appropriate patients and trigger delayed treatment in those who need it, whereas avoiding intervention in those who do not. In this review, we will consider how recent advances have influenced patient selection for active surveillance and review the range of different intervention triggers that have been proposed.

Several large surveillance cohort studies have been reported recently showing excellent medium-term outcomes in well selected patients, with approximately a third of patients going on to have deferred treatment. Debate continues on the most appropriate eligibility criteria for active surveillance and what triggers for intervention should be used. There is growing interest in the role of transperineal template biopsies and multiparametric MRI, both for patient selection and in identifying triggers for intervention.

Active surveillance is a well tolerated treatment option in well selected groups of patients. There is no 'one size fits all' set of criteria for patient selection or triggers for intervention but decisions can be guided by information from histology, prostate-specific antigen kinetics and imaging.