Informational needs during active surveillance for prostate cancer: A qualitative study
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 23, 2026
A New Technique for Treating Low-risk Prostate Cancer—Super Active Surveillance
Published on: November 7, 2025
Stacy Loeb1, Caitlin Curnyn2, Angela Fagerlin3
1Department of Urology, New York University, New York City, USA; Department of Population Health, New York University, New York City, USA; Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University, New York City, USA; Manhattan Veterans Affairs Medical Center, New York City, USA.
Objective:
To understand the informational needs during active surveillance (AS) for prostate cancer from the perspectives of patients and providers.
Methods:
We conducted seven focus groups with 37 AS patients in two urban clinical settings, and 24 semi-structured interviews with a national sample of providers. Transcripts were analyzed using applied thematic analysis, and themes were organized using descriptive matrix analyses.
Results:
We identified six themes related to informational needs during AS: 1) more information on prostate cancer (biopsy features, prognosis), 2) more information on active surveillance (difference from watchful waiting, testing protocol), 3) more information on alternative management options (complementary medicine, lifestyle modification), 4) greater variety of resources (multiple formats, targeting different audiences), 5) more social support and interaction, and 6) verified integrity of information (trusted, multidisciplinary and secure).
Conclusions:
Patients and providers described numerous drawbacks to existing prostate cancer resources and a variety of unmet needs including information on prognosis, AS testing protocols, and lifestyle modification. They also expressed a need for different types of resources, including interaction and unbiased information.
Practical Implications:
These results are useful to inform the design of future resources for men undergoing AS.
More Related Videos
06:08A Cognitive Fusion-guided Prostate Biopsy Using Multiparametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Transrectal Ultrasound
Published on: March 21, 2025
05:49Use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Biopsy Data to Guide Sampling Procedures for Prostate Cancer Biobanking
Published on: October 10, 2019
Related Concept Videos
02:30Naturalistic Observations
01:11Observational Studies
There are three types of observational studies – Prospective, retrospective, and cross-sectional.
Prospective Study
Prospective studies, also known as longitudinal or cohort studies, are carried out by collecting future data from groups sharing similar characteristics. One...