NICE prostate guidelines updated based on Cambridge research

Patients with a raised blood level of Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) or other worrying symptoms have tests to determine any presence of cancer. If they are diagnosed with the disease, they were normally categorised in one of three groups, low, intermediate or high-risk, depending on the severity of the cancer, and start treatment.

However, research supported by the NIHR Cambridge BRC, demonstrated that some patients did not fit neatly into any of the categories and so did not require the same monitoring and treatments compared to others in the respective groups.

They developed a new risk model – the Cambridge Prognostic Groups (CPG), which re-categorised these groups into five categories.

After years of collecting detailed health information and testing, the team found having five categories was a better method to inform the best treatment choice and also likelihood of the disease responding to treatment.

NICE recognised all newly diagnosed men in the UK should be risk-categorised by the new five category model developed in the CPG’s criteria which will now improve care and tailor appropriate treatment to patients.