Purpose: Prospective clinical trials have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of active surveillance for men with localized prostate cancer but also suggested that inadequate surveillance may risk missing an opportunity for cure.
Methods and materials: We used data from a population-based cohort of active-surveillance patients to examine the rigor of surveillance monitoring in the general population.
Results: Among 1419 patients enrolled from 2011 to 2013 throughout the state of North Carolina in collaboration with the state cancer registry and followed prospectively, 346 pursued active surveillance. Only 13% received all guideline-recommended surveillance testing (including prostate-specific antigen, digital rectal examination, and prostate biopsy) within the first 2 years. Furthermore, adherence was <20% in all patient subgroups.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that "active surveillance" as implemented in the general population may not represent the rigorous monitoring regimens used in the studies that demonstrated the safety of this management approach. More real-world studies on active surveillance are needed.
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