Prostate cancer is a serious health problem. There are 35,000 new cases every year in the UK, and around 10,000 deaths. The ProtecT study is a research project taking place in nine parts of the UK.

ProtecT study findings

Please see the two recent updates below. A link to an academic paper by ProtecT researchers concerning decision making for localised prostate cancer patients and an interview with them about it.

The first major results from the ProtecT study were published on September 15th, 2016. All participants were sent a copy of our results newsletter. The results were widely reported in the newspapers, TV, radio and on-line. These first results present the outcomes of the men who agreed to be randomised to the active monitoring group or surgery group or radiotherapy group. The groups are compared up to the end of 2015 - over an average of 10 years.  

Results published in the New England Journal of Medicine show that all three treatments result in similar, and very low, rates of death from prostate cancer. Surgery and radiotherapy reduce the risk of cancer progression over time compared with active monitoring, but cause more unpleasant side-effects.

More research is needed to identify the cancers that will progress or spread, and those that do not. Longer follow up is needed to find out how survival, progression and spread of cancer, and quality of life will change over the next 5 to 10 years.

Recent newsletter and publications:

• ProtecT Newsletter Autumn 2023 (PDF, 159kB)
• Men’s experiences of radiotherapy treatment for localized prostate cancer and its long‑term treatment side effects: a longitudinal qualitative study 
  
• Strategies adopted by men to deal with uncertainty and anxiety when following an active surveillance/monitoring protocol for localised prostate cancer and implications for care: a longitudinal qualitative study embedded within the ProtecT trial 
• Factors associated with trial recruitment, preferences, and treatments received were elucidated in a comprehensive cohort study 
•  A prospective cohort and extended comprehensive-cohort design provided insights about the generalizability of a pragmatic trial: the ProtecT prostate cancer trial. 
• A paper concerning decision making for localised prostate cancer patients by ProtecT study professors Jenny Donovan and Freddie Hamdy, March 2017
• An interview with Jenny Donovan and Freddie Hamdy about the above paper: 'Patient-Reported Outcomes Following Treatment for Localised Prostate Cancer'
• Autumn 2016 newsletter (PDF, 291kB)
• Largest UK trial of treatment for prostate cancer publishes first results
• Paper 1: 10-Year Outcomes after Monitoring, Surgery, or Radiotherapy for Localized Prostate Cancer 
• Paper 2: Patient-Reported Outcomes after Monitoring, Surgery, or Radiotherapy for Prostate Cancer 
• Video summary of the ProtecT Trial from The New England Journal of Medicine 
• Interview with Professor Freddie Hamdy
• Interview with Professor Jenny Donovan
• One man's story
• Large ten-year trial on treatment of localised prostate cancer will aid management decisions