Last week we reported on the new NCCN guidance on prostate cancer management, including the heavy emphasis on active surveillance as a first-line treatment option for as many as 40 percent of men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer. Today a new article on Medscape also takes up this issue, with views from a select group of physicians on issues that relate to the implementation of this new guidance.
Filed under: Management, Treatment Tagged: | active surveillance, guideline, NCCN
Good article. I thought there would be more opposition — maybe that’s still to come.
Interesting to see that life expectancy has come into a clearer focus — perhaps more than it has in the past. For the “standard health” man AS is recommended for very low risk disease from the age of 57, but if you take the minus 50% adjustment to the table of life expectancy for the poorest health quartile you’d be talking about men in their late 30s!!
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. Of coure at a personal level it is rather pleasant to see my original decision justified, even though it means that my life expectancy only gives me about 7 more years!!
Where can I find the specific definition of “very low risk disease” as it applies to the new NCCN guidance?
Thank you
Bill Schmid
Dear Bill: See the answer to your prior question about the specific definition of “low risk” disease. I gave both definitions.