Decision Support Systems in Prostate Cancer Treatment: An Overview

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Medical Informatics
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Multifactorial decision support systems (mDSS) enhance clinical decision-making by providing case-specific advice.
• Prostate cancer (PCa) management can benefit from mDSS to improve patient outcomes.
• Current literature on mDSS for PCa needs comprehensive analysis to identify existing tools and research gaps.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and analyze available mDSS for prostate cancer (PCa).
• To understand the current landscape of decision support tools in PCa care.
• To identify areas lacking mDSS development and inform future research directions.

Main Methods:

• A MEDLINE literature search was conducted in July 2018.
• Studies were categorized into diagnostic, treatment, and patient-focused mDSS.
• Manual screening excluded irrelevant studies and proposals, focusing on PCa-specific mDSS.

Main Results:

• The review identified twelve diagnostic mDSS and six treatment mDSS.
• Two patient-focused mDSS were found, alongside eight papers contributing to mDSS improvement.
• External-beam radiotherapy treatment mDSS are well-represented.

Conclusions:

• Diagnostic and external-beam radiotherapy treatment mDSS for PCa are well-documented.
• There is a notable lack of mDSS for alternative PCa treatment modalities.
• Patient decision aids for PCa are emerging but require further research and development for personalized medicine.