Page 4 - An Evidence Review of Active Surveillance in Men With Localized Prostate Cancer

Preface

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), through its Evidence-based
Practice Centers (EPCs), sponsors the development of evidence reports and technology
assessments to assist public- and private-sector organizations in their efforts to improve the
quality of health care in the United States. This report was requested and funded by the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Medical Applications of Research (OMAR). The reports and
assessments provide organizations with comprehensive, science-based information on common,
costly medical conditions and new health care technologies and strategies. The EPCs
systematically review the relevant scientific literature on topics assigned to them by AHRQ—
based on deliberations by the Planning Committee convened by OMAR, the National Cancer
Institute, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute on Aging, and
the Department of Veterans Affairs—and conduct additional analyses when appropriate prior to
developing their reports and assessments.
To bring the broadest range of experts into the development of evidence reports and health
technology assessments, AHRQ encourages the EPCs to form partnerships and enter into
collaborations with other medical and research organizations. The EPCs work with these partner
organizations to ensure that the evidence reports and technology assessments they produce will
become building blocks for health care quality improvement projects throughout the Nation. The
reports undergo peer review prior to their release as a final report.
AHRQ expects that the EPC evidence reports and technology assessments will inform
individual health plans, providers, and purchasers as well as the health care system as a whole by
providing important information to help improve health care quality.
We welcome written comments on this evidence report. They may be sent by mail to the
Task Order Officer named below at: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 540 Gaither
Road, Rockville, MD 20850, or by email to epc@ahrq.gov.

Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D. Jean Slutsky, P.A., M.S.P.H.
Director Director, Center for Outcomes and Evidence
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Stephanie Chang, M.D., M.P.H. William Lawrence, M.D., M.S.
Director Task Order Officer
Evidence-based Practice Program Center for Outcomes and Evidence
Center for Outcomes and Evidence Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Jennifer Miller Croswell, M.D., M.P.H.
Acting Director
Office of Medical Applications of Research
Office of the Director
National Institutes of Health

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