Implementation of PSA-based active surveillance in prostate cancer

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Oncology
• Medical Diagnostics

Background:

• Prostate cancer screening identifies many localized, low-risk cases, often indolent.
• Active treatment for these cases can cause significant quality-of-life impacts.
• Active surveillance is gaining interest as a method to defer treatment until disease progression.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the role of Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) in monitoring prostate cancer patients under active surveillance.
• To discuss the importance of PSA compared to other existing and emerging monitoring tools.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of existing studies on PSA in active surveillance for prostate cancer.
• Analysis of PSA's utility in patient selection and disease monitoring.
• Comparative discussion of PSA against alternative and novel monitoring technologies.

Main Results:

• PSA is a key tool for identifying eligible patients for active surveillance and for monitoring disease progression.
• The review highlights the established utility of PSA in current active surveillance protocols.
• Emerging tools may offer complementary or alternative monitoring capabilities.

Conclusions:

• PSA remains a cornerstone in the active surveillance of prostate cancer, aiding in management decisions.
• Integrating PSA with newer technologies may enhance the precision and effectiveness of monitoring.
• Further research is needed to fully define the optimal combination of tools for active surveillance.