Development and Validation of a Clinical Prognostic Stage Group System for Nonmetastatic Prostate Cancer Using Disease-Specific Mortality Results From the International Staging Collaboration for Cancer of the Prostate

Abstract

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers diagnosed in men worldwide. Localized prostate cancer can be indolent and does not always require immediate intervention.1-3 In contrast, some men harbor aggressive localized disease with a high risk of prostate cancer–specific mortality (PCSM), even with multimodality treatment.4-6 No prospectively validated predictive biomarkers are available for clinical use in localized prostate cancer, and thus treatment recommendations are based on prognostic variables. Given the substantial heterogeneity in disease severity, accurate estimates of outcomes are critical to make informed therapeutic decisions.