CONTEXT: Active surveillance (AS) is a standard of care for patients with low-risk and selected intermediate-risk prostate cancer (PCa). Nevertheless, there is a lack of summary evidence on how to impact disease trajectory during AS. OBJECTIVE: To assess which interventions prevent PCa progression effectively during AS. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: We queried PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases to identify studies examining the impact of interventions aimed at slowing disease progression during AS. The primary endpoint was PCa progression, the definition of which must have included pathological upgrading. The secondary endpoint included treatment toxicities. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: We identified 22 studies, six randomized controlled trials and 16 observational studies, which analyzed the association between different interventions and PCa progression during AS. The interventions considered in the studies included 5-alpha reductase inhibitors (5-ARIs), statins, diet, exercise, chlormadinone, fexapotide triflutate (FT), enzalutamide, coffee, vitamin D3, and PROSTVAC. We found that administration of 5-ARIs was associated with improved progression-free survival (PFS; hazard ratio: 0.59; 95% confidence interval 0.48-0.72), with no increased toxicity signals. Therapies such as vitamin D3, chlormadinone, FT, and enzalutamide have shown some efficacy. However, these anticancer drugs have been associated with treatment-related adverse events in up to 88% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: The use of 5-ARIs in PCa patients on AS is associated with longer PFS. However, for the other interventions, it is difficult to draw clear conclusions based on the weak available evidence. PATIENT SUMMARY: Patients with prostate cancer managed with active surveillance (AS) who are treated with 5-alpha reductase inhibitors have a lower risk of disease progression, with minimal adverse events. Other interventions require more studies to determine their efficacy and safety profile in men on AS.

Department of Urology 2nd Faculty of Medicine Charles University Prague Czech Republic

Department of Urology Clinico San Carlos Hospital Madrid Spain

Department of Urology Comprehensive Cancer Center Medical University of Vienna Vienna Austria

Department of Urology La Croix Du Sud Hospital Quint Fonsegrives France

Department of Urology Liverpool University Hospitals Liverpool UK

Department of Urology Medical University of Silesia Zabrze Poland

Department of Urology Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Okayama Japan

Department of Urology San Raffaele Hospital Milan Italy

Department of Urology Shariati Hospital Tehran University of Medical Science Tehran Iran

Department of Urology Spitalul Clinic Judetean Murures University of Medicine Pharmacy Science and Technology of Targu Mures Mures Romania

Department of Urology The Jikei University School of Medicine Tokyo Japan

Department of Urology University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust London UK

Department of Urology University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf Hamburg Germany

Department of Urology University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Dallas TX USA

Department of Urology Weill Cornell Medical College New York NY USA

Division of Surgery and Interventional Science University College London London UK

Hourani Center for Applied Scientific Research Al Ahliyya Amman University Amman Jordan

Institute for Urology and Reproductive Health Sechenov University Moscow Russia

Karl Landsteiner Institute of Urology and Andrology Vienna Austria

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