Most men with low-risk prostate tumors now opt for active surveillance, but overtreatment remains a problem, according to data presented during the 2022 American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting. A retrospective analysis of more than 20,000 patients with low-risk prostate cancer showed that approximately 60% of men who were eligible for active surveillance chose that approach in 2021, up from 27% in 2014. Authors of the study noted, however, that treatment rates among men with low-risk prostate tumors remain suboptimal, with wide variation across providers.

In a study reported in JAMA Network Open, Burgess et al found that the 2012 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) Grade D recommendation against prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening for all men appeared to be associated with ending of a trend of annual reductions in prostate cancer–specific mortality. 

In a study presented at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting and simultaneously published in JCO Precision Oncology, Veda N. Giri, MD, and colleagues found that Black men with prostate cancer exhibited a lower frequency and narrower spectrum of germline pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants and a higher frequency of variants of unknown significance vs White men, including multiple variants of unknown significance in DNA repair genes.

In a Swedish study reported in JAMA Oncology, Björnebo et al found that longer use of 5α-reductase inhibitors for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia was associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer mortality among men without a prior diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Men taking either of the two most common oral medications for advanced prostate cancer who had also undergone hormone therapy to treat their disease were at higher risk of serious metabolic or cardiovascular issues than patients who were receiving hormone therapy alone, according to findings published by Lai et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.