Overview
During active surveillance for prostate cancer, your prostate cancer is closely monitored for any changes. Active surveillance for prostate cancer is sometimes called expectant management.
No cancer treatment is provided during active surveillance for prostate cancer. This means medications, radiation and surgery aren’t used. Periodic tests are done to check for signs the cancer is growing.
You might consider active surveillance for prostate cancer if your cancer is small, expected to grow very slowly, confined to one area of your prostate, and isn’t causing signs or symptoms.
If you have other health problems that limit your life expectancy, active surveillance for prostate cancer may also be a reasonable approach.
Why it’s done
Active surveillance for prostate cancer is used to avoid treatment side effects when the risk of the prostate cancer progressing is very low.
Because prostate cancer grows very slowly, some very small cancers may never cause signs and symptoms. Many who choose active surveillance live out their normal life spans before the cancer ever grows large enough to require treatment.
Active surveillance for prostate cancer may be appropriate for you if:
- Your cancer is small. If your cancer is found early, while it’s still small and limited to one area of your prostate, active surveillance may be a reasonable choice.
- Your Gleason score is low. Active surveillance may be best suited if you have a low Gleason score (usually 6 or lower), which indicates a less aggressive, slower growing form of cancer.
- You have other serious health problems. If you have other advanced health problems — such as severe heart disease — that limit your life expectancy and that could potentially be made worse by treatment of prostate cancer, you may opt for active surveillance.
