PROSTATE CANCER CHARACTERISTICS AND PROSTATE SPECIFIC ANTIGEN CHANGES IN SCREENING DETECTED PATIENTS INITIALLY TREATED WITH A WATCHFUL WAITING POLICY

ABSTRACTPurpose: We evaluated prostate cancer (PCa) characteristics at diagnosis and changes in prostatic specific antigen (PSA) with time in males with screening detected PCa that was initially managed with a watchful waiting policy.Materials and Methods: Patients with histologically proven PCa and PSA less than 10 ng/ml were selected from the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer, section Rotterdam. The choice of initiating a watchful waiting policy was patient desire or physician advice. PSA slope and PSA doubling time (PSADT) were calculated in patients with 3 or more PSA tests results available.Results: A total of 191 patients were included. Mean age at diagnosis was 69 years and mean PSA was 3.9 ng/ml. Of the patients 92.6% had a Gleason score of 3 + 3 or lower, 133 had a followup of greater than 12 months (mean 40) and 35 (29.2%) had a negative PSA slope. Mean PSADT was 9.7 years (range 0.3 to 155) in 85 males with a positive PSA slope. During followup 30 patients changed thera...