Prediction Type: Two predictions are shown, non-recurrence and alive. Non-recurrence is the chance that you will not have a detectable cancer for the first 15 years after treatment. Alive is the chance that you will not die from your cancer for the first fifteen years after treatment. The predictions from year 9 through 15 are extrapolations based on years 1 through 8.

Factors:  These are your prognostic factors.  They provide the information about your cancer that was used to make your predictions.
Age: Your age in years at the time of  your treatment.
Pre-Op PSA: Your prostate specific antigen (PSA) laboratory value prior to treatment.
cTNM: The clinical TNM stage. There are four stages, I to IV.
Gleason Grade: The biopsy of your prostate contained cancer cells. These cells were scored based on their microscopic appearance and range from 2 to 10.
Pre-Operative Treatment: 0: No treatment; 1: Hormone; 2: Radiation; 3: Both.

Missing Data:  The more data that is missing, the more difficult it will be to provide accurate predictions.

Prediction Method:  An advanced statistical method called artificial neural network regression (ANN) was used to make your predictions.  Your factors were entered into the artificial neural network model.  The model used this information to predict your chance of recurrence and of being alive over the next fifteen years.

Reference:  Burke HB, Goodman, PH, Rose, DB, Henson DE, Weinstein JN, Harrell Jr. FE, Marks JR, Winchester DP, Bostwick DG.  Artificial neural networks improve the accuracy of cancer survival prediction. Cancer 1997; 79: 857-62.

Webmaster@CancerHome.com © Copyright 2000, Cancer Home Inc. All Rights Reserved