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The relationship between anxiety and time to treatment for patients with Prostate Cancer on surveillance

Newswise — According to a report from Dr. Latini and CaPSURE investigators that appears in the July 2007 early view version of the Journal of Urology, some men on active surveillance for prostate cancer (CaP) are prompted to active treatment as a result of cancer related anxiety.

The researchers identified 105 men in the CaPSURE database who had clinically localized CaP, 3 or more PSA levels after baseline, and were on active surveillance (AS). Both PSA velocity and anxiety change were calculated the latter based upon a 5-item fear of cancer recurrence measure.

The median time for men receiving treatment was 40 months and although PSA velocity was greater in those converting to treatment it was not statistically significant.

The change in anxiety rate was statistically larger for men who elected treatment than those who did not. While PSA velocity and anxiety rate change were independent predictors of electing treatment, sociodemographic, or clinical characteristics at baseline were not. Excluding data on 5 men who had evidence of advanced disease progression did not alter the outcomes.

The authors conclude that psychosocial support for men with CaP on AS is important if they are to base decisions for treatment on clinical variables as opposed to anxiety.