Not So “Active” Surveillance

In 1987, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) was introduced for prostate cancer screening. Widespread adoption of PSA screening resulted in a significantly increased number of incident cases and a significantly reduced number of cases of metastatic disease at presentation.1 However, survival benefits have come at the cost of significant overdiagnosis and corresponding overtreatment, resulting in significant subsequent controversy over the role of PSA screening for prostate cancer.2 Notably, patients with low-risk prostate cancer are the least likely to experience disease progression and are most at risk of morbidity due to overtreatment.
Source: International Journal of Radiation Oncology * Biology * Physics - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Editorial Source Type: research