Page 110 - An Evidence Review of Active Surveillance in Men With Localized Prostate Cancer

other strategies used these factors. Both sets of strategies generally used some sort of PSA
criteria, but the thresholds in AS were generally lower (10-15 ng/mL) than the other
observational strategies (15 or 50 ng/mL). AS protocols had more clearly defined followup than
other observational strategies, with explicit indications for curative treatment including increase
in Gleason scores, number and percentage of positive cores (on rebiopsy), and/or PSA velocity.
AS protocols generally did not include imaging in their followup protocols. In contrast, other
observational strategies typically included imaging in their followup, specifically bone scan and
chest radiography. They also generally did not use rebiopsy but they did use PSA in their
followup. Comparison of the followup frequencies between AS and other observational
strategies (Tables 2.3 versus Table 2.10) showed that PSA testing and DRE were common in
both strategies, but somewhat more frequent with AS protocols, at least within the first year of
followup.

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