The natural history of adenocarcinoma of the prostate

All analyses of the efficacy of therapy for prostate cancer must control for the natural history of the disease. Over the past years, several long-term series involving several hundred patients have helped to describe the results of untreated disease. In general, most patients will not die of their disease, although approximately half of the patients will develop disease progression within 10 years. Predictors of progression include tumor stage, grade, and ploidy status.