Newly released research has recommended that some low-risk prostate cancer patients receive no initial treatment subject to close monitoring.

The study conducted between 1991 and 2007 involved 262 men under the age of 75 with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) below 10 ng/ml. They underwent an initial biopsy and then a restaging biopsy and had no treatment for six months.

They subsequently underwent exams and PSA tests every six months with biopsies recommended every one to two years.

Of that initial group under surveillance, 43 patients chose treatment or had evidence of cancer progression prompting active treatment, although all except one were cured. The remaining 219 patients remained under monitoring without evidence of the cancer spreading.

"Active surveillance with delayed treatment, if necessary, for select patients appears to be safe and associated with a low risk of metastatic spread," the study concluded.

The results are important, according to study author Dr. Scott Eggener, assistant professor of surgery at the University of Chicago Medical Center, because standard treatments, including radiation therapy and surgery, do not always benefit patients or prolong life.

They have also been associated with serious long-term side effects such as incontinence and erectile dysfunction

The study was conducted at Memorial Sloane-Kettering Cancer Center, the University of Miami, Cleveland Clinic and University of British Columbia.