HAROW: the first comprehensive prospective observational study comparing treatment options in localized prostate cancer.

Purpose: To collect data on primary treatment decision and follow-up in patients with diagnosed, histologically confirmed localized (T1a-T2c/N0/M0) prostate cancer (PCa) for up to 5 years in a prospective observational non-interventional study.

Methods: Patients were non-randomly allocated to one of the five treatment strategies: hormone therapy, active surveillance, radiation, operation, or watchful waiting.

Results: A total of 3169 patients were included by 259 participating sites; 2957 patients had at least one follow-up visit.

Returning genetic research results to individuals: points-to-consider.

This paper is intended to stimulate debate amongst stakeholders in the international research community on the topic of returning individual genetic research results to study participants. Pharmacogenetics and disease genetics studies are becoming increasingly prevalent, leading to a growing body of information on genetic associations for drug responsiveness and disease susceptibility with the potential to improve health care. Much of these data are presently characterized as exploratory (non-validated or hypothesis-generating).