Overview of Non-organ Confined Calculator

This calculator was developed to predict the likelihood that cancer has spread beyond the prostate gland in men with clinically localized prostate cancer. Doctors attempt to determine the extent or stage of cancer using current staging methods such as digital rectal exam, PSA blood tests, and transrectal ultrasound. Cancer stage is an important determination prior to selection of treatment for prostate and other cancers. In prostate cancer, tumors that have spread beyond the prostate gland -- called non-organ-confined (NOC) cancers -- are more likely to lead to poor outcomes than cancers confined to the gland. This calculator was developed with the goal of improving the accuracy of prostate cancer staging.

Methods:

An artificial neural network was trained and validated (tested) using data from the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. These data included clinical and pathological information from over 5,000 men who underwent radical prostatectomy and removal of their pelvic lymph nodes as primary treatment for clinically localized prostate cancer between 1982 and 1999.

The variables used were Age, PSA, Primary Gleason grade, Secondary Gleason grade, Gleason Sum, and clinical stage (cTNM). Table 1, below, provides some information about the variables used to develop the model.