[Early Detection of Prostate Cancer: Current Real-World Data from the VERSUS Study by d-uo]

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Oncology
• Public Health

Background:

• The Deutsche Uro-Onkologen (d-uo) initiated the prospective VERSUS study in 2018 to document urological malignancies.
• Germany's 2015 cancer registry system includes diagnostic context, enabling comparative analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate differences in clinical parameters between early-detected and otherwise detected prostate cancer patients.
• To evaluate the impact of diagnostic context on patient profiles at diagnosis.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of prospective, multicenter data from the VERSUS study (May 2018 - August 2025).
• Inclusion of 20,253 prostate cancer patients from 31,419 urological cancer cases.
• Comparison of clinical parameters (age, PSA, tumor stage, ISUP grade) based on detection method (early detection vs. other).

Main Results:

• 55% of prostate cancer cases were detected via early detection programs, while 45% were diagnosed otherwise.
• Early-detected cases showed statistically significant differences: younger median age (69.7 vs. 70.9 years), lower median PSA (8.2 vs. 11.0 ng/ml), and fewer cases with PSA >20 ng/ml (16.7% vs. 28.0%).
• Patients with early-detected prostate cancer presented with more favorable tumor stages (UICC I: 68.3% vs. 58.3%) and lower ISUP grade groups (IV & V: 18.1% vs. 24.2%) compared to other detection methods.

Conclusions:

• Prostate cancer diagnosed through early detection is associated with younger age, lower PSA levels, and more favorable tumor characteristics.
• Early detection is linked to a lower rate of primary metastatic disease.
• Real-world data from the VERSUS study provide strong support for the benefits of early prostate cancer detection programs.