Patterns of practice in the United States: Insights from CaPSURE on prostate cancer management

The Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urologic Research Endeavor (CaPSURE) is a national disease registry of more than 10,000 patients with prostate cancer treated at 31 primarily community-based sites across the country. The database tracks oncologic and health-related quality-of-life outcomes. Because the urologists participating in the project treat according to their usual practices, CaPSURE facilitates the study of trends in disease-management strategies, offering a reflection of “real world” practice patterns. This review highlights key studies during the past several years that document downward risk migration, validates widely used prognostic nomograms, establishes prostatespecific antigen doubling time as a surrogate endpoint for disease-specific mortality, assesses the impact of treatment on patient-reported quality of life, and presents national trends in imaging test use and primary treatment strategies for localized disease. © 2004, Current Science Inc.