Delaying treatment for localised prostate cancer does not increase mortality risk, trial shows

Active monitoring of prostate cancer has the same high survival rates after 15 years as radiotherapy or surgery, reports the largest study of its kind today.

The latest findings from the ProtecT trial are presented today at the European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress in Milan and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Although men on active monitoring – which involves regular tests to check on the cancer – were more likely to see it progress or spread than those receiving radiotherapy or surgery, this didn’t reduce their likelihood of survival.