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 prostate-specific 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.