FRIDAY, June 3, 2005 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. researchers say they've developed a simple model to help doctors predict the presence of high-risk prostate cancer in individual patients.
"Our model can help predict which men may have the most aggressive type of prostate cancer and which men can relax," lead investigator Dr. Mark Garzotto, director of urologic oncology at Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center and
an associate professor of surgery (urology) at Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, said in a prepared statement.
He said the model -- a kind of clinical chart called a "nomogram" -- can reduce unnecessary biopsies and identify men most likely to benefit from prostate cancer treatment.
"Our nomogram identifies the men who are most likely to have high-grade tumors and are most likely to benefit from a biopsy. Knowing a patient's age and the results of a few simple clinical tests is all the information we need to accurately predict tumor grade without performing a biopsy," Garzotto said.
He and his colleagues created the model by statistically analyzing data on clinical variables collected from nearly 1,700 men before they underwent prostate biopsies. They concluded that physicians could use three clinical variables -- age, digital rectal exam results, and PSA density -- to predict the presence of high-risk prostate cancer.
The study was presented at the recent annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncologists in Orlando.
More information
The American Cancer Society has more about prostate cancer.
