Prostate Cancer Intervention Versus Observation Trial (PIVOT)

Radical prostatectomy provides potentially curative removal of the cancer. However, it subjects patients to the morbidity and mortality of the surgery and may be neither necessary nor effective. Expectant management does not offer potential cure. However, it provides palliative therapy for symptomatic or metastatic disease progression, avoids potentially excessive and morbid interventions in asymptomatic patients, and emphasizes management approaches for focus on relieving symptoms while minimizing therapeutic complications.

The primary objective of this study is to determine which of two strategies is superior for the management of clinically localized

CAP:

1) radical prostatectomy with early aggressive intervention for disease persistence or recurrence, 2) expectant management with reservation of therapy for palliative treatment of symptomatic or metastatic disease progression. Outcomes include total mortality, CAP mortality, disease free and progression free survival, morbidity, quality of life, and cost effectiveness.