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A New Technique for Treating Low-risk Prostate Cancer—Super Active Surveillance
Published on: November 7, 2025
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Active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer
1Division of Urology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, 2075 Bayview Ave. #MG408, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5, Canada, Laurence.Klotz@sunnybrook.ca.
Current Urology Reports
|March 13, 2015
Summary
Active surveillance is a safe approach for managing low-risk prostate cancer, allowing men to defer treatment. This conservative strategy identifies patients needing intervention, with low long-term cancer-specific mortality.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Urology
- Cancer Management
Background:
- Many low-risk and some low-/intermediate-risk prostate cancers are indolent with minimal metastatic potential.
- Understanding patient risk stratification is crucial for appropriate prostate cancer management.
- Conservative management strategies are increasingly recommended for suitable prostate cancer patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the safety and efficacy of active surveillance for prostate cancer.
- To identify low-risk prostate cancer patients who may harbor higher-risk disease requiring definitive therapy.
- To refine conservative management through early identification of disease progression.
Main Methods:
- Active surveillance protocol involving regular monitoring (biopsy, imaging, biomarkers).
- Selective delayed intervention for patients re-classified as higher risk.
- Analysis of intermediate to long-term outcomes, including cancer-specific mortality.
Main Results:
- Active surveillance demonstrates safety in the intermediate to long term.
- Cancer-specific mortality was 3% at 10-15 years for patients on active surveillance.
- Approximately 30% of newly diagnosed low-risk patients may require definitive therapy.
Conclusions:
- Active surveillance is a safe and effective conservative management strategy for select prostate cancer patients.
- Ongoing research focuses on refining surveillance with advanced tools like MRI, targeted biopsies, and molecular biomarkers.
- This approach allows deferral of treatment for most men with lower-risk prostate cancer.
