A new study published in JAMA Oncology by researchers at University Hospitals, Weill Cornell Medicine, and Case Western Reserve University—including Case CCC Population and Cancer Prevention Program member Jonathan Shoag, MD—reveals that some men who are diagnosed with Grade Group 1 (GG1) prostate cancer, which is often associated with a low risk of metastisizing, may be at higher risk than originally thought.
After analyzing data of nearly 300,000 men with localized prostate cancer, the researchers found that relying solely on biopsy grade can lead to underestimating the severity of the disease and, therefore, misclassifying patients who could benefit from treatments like surgery or radiation.
In fact, one in six men diagnosed with GG1 prostate cancer were found to have intermediate- or high-risk disease when additional clinical factors were considered. But up to 30% of men with high-risk GG1 prostate cancer go untreated, likely due to the conflation of grade and risk, leading to worse outcomes.