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Study Confirms High Survival Rates in Men with Low-Risk Prostate Cancer
Last reviewed: 15.07.2025
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A new study published in the July 2025 issue of JNCCN - Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network found that men diagnosed with low-risk, non-metastatic prostate cancer at an older age and treated according to the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines® in Oncology had a 90% chance of being cancer-free for the remainder of their life. Among patients with higher-risk, non-metastatic prostate cancer and a longer life expectancy, that chance still exceeded 65%.
The researchers analyzed data from 62,839 people diagnosed with non-metastatic prostate cancer in Sweden between 2000 and 2020. All patients were assigned to a certain risk category, had a life expectancy of more than three years, and were treated according to the evidence-based, expert consensus NCCN Guidelines® for the Treatment of Prostate Cancer.
Patients with low- and intermediate-risk cancers were six times more likely to die from other causes than from prostate cancer itself. Patients with high-risk cancers were also twice as likely to die from other causes.
"Our data reinforce the importance of adherence to guidelines in prostate cancer treatment. If guideline-recommended approaches are used, most people with prostate cancer will survive for many years after diagnosis. This includes active surveillance as an excellent treatment strategy for the right patients," said Dr. Pietro Schilipoti, lead author of the study from Uppsala University in Sweden and IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital in Italy.
Gleason scores/grade groups, clinical TNM staging, treatment data and other information from the Swedish National Prostate Cancer Registry (NPCR) were used for the study. Life expectancy at diagnosis was calculated based on age and comorbidities. Date and cause of death were taken from the Swedish Cause of Death Register.
"This study will bring great relief to many men facing a diagnosis of prostate cancer," said Dr. Ahmad Shabsigh, of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-James Cancer Hospital and Solow Research Institute and a member of the NCCN Guidelines for Prostate Cancer panel who was not involved in the study.
“It shows that when treated according to NCCN guidelines, the risk of dying from other causes is significantly higher – up to six times higher, even for high-risk cancers. This is true even in a different health care system, such as Sweden. Particularly impressive is that for patients with low-risk prostate cancer, many of whom were on active surveillance, the 30-year risk of dying from cancer itself was only about 11%. This underscores the power of evidence-based treatment plans and the importance of focusing not just on the cancer but on the person’s overall health.”