Today, we have the renowned prostate cancer expert, Dr. Laurence Klotz joining us on the Prostate Health Podcast to talk about active surveillance for low risk prostate cancer.
It can be very distressing to receive a diagnosis of prostate cancer. For many men, their first instinct is to immediately want to go for aggressive therapy, like surgery or radiation. Active surveillance, however, has become a valuable alternative for some men with low-risk prostate cancer because it allows them to avoid some of the side-effects of cancer treatment. Listen in today, to find out all you need to know about active surveillance for prostate cancer.
About Dr. Klotz:
Dr. Klotz currently serves as Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto. He also holds the Sunnybrook Chair of Prostate Cancer Research and he is the chairman of the World Uro-Oncology Federation. Dr. Klotz was the Founding Editor-in-Chief of both the Canadian Journal of Urology and the Canadian Urology Association Journal. He was the founder and is Chairman of the Canadian Urology Research Consortium. He was awarded the Order of Canada for his work in prostate cancer. Dr. Klotz completed his fellowship at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, in urologic oncology.
Dr. Klotz is a widely published Urologic Oncologist with over 350 publications and six books. Be sure to tune in today, to find out what he has to share about active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer.
Disclaimer: The Prostate Health Podcast is for informational purposes only. Nothing in this podcast should be construed as medical advice. By listening to the podcast, no physician-patient relationship has been formed. For more information and counseling, you must contact your personal physician or urologist with questions about your unique situation.
Show Highlights:
- Dr. Klotz shares some key points which are the basis for this conservative approach to the treatment of prostate cancer.
- Low-grade prostate cancer normally develops with age, in men.
- A man’s likelihood of having low-grade cancer in his prostate is roughly equal to his age, as a percentage.
- Although about two-thirds of men over the age of sixty-five will have small amounts of low-grade prostate cancer, studies have shown that this low-grade prostate cancer has a zero chance of metastasizing. It never spreads.
- Dr. Klotz explains what the issue is with low-grade prostate cancer.
- Dr. Klotz discusses the major approach to active surveillance.
- Some of the advantages of doing active surveillance, rather than having treatment.
- Dr. Klotz explains how doctors identify men who are candidates for active surveillance.
- The basic protocols around active surveillance, and how they are applied, vary to some degree around the world.
- The whole approach to low-grade prostate cancer has improved a lot.
- The current trend is moving away from doing biopsies.
- For patients of around eighty years of age, doctors switch to what’s known as “watchful waiting”. Dr. Klotz explains what that means.
- Active surveillance is now also being used for several other types of cancers.
Links and resources:
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