Localized Prostate Cancer Prognosis More Positive, Says New JNCCN Research
New research published in the July 2025 issue of JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network shows encouraging results for people diagnosed later in life with nonmetastatic low-risk prostate cancer. When treated according to the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®), 90% were likely to live out their remaining life expectancy without dying from prostate cancer. Even among those with higher-risk, nonmetastatic cancer and longer life expectancy, the chance of surviving prostate cancer was still over 65%.
The study analyzed data from 62,839 individuals in Sweden diagnosed with nonmetastatic prostate cancer between 2000 and 2020. Each person was assigned to a defined risk group, had a life expectancy of more than three years, and received care based on NCCN Guidelines® for Prostate Cancer. Results showed that patients with low- or intermediate-risk cancer were six times more likely to die from other causes than from prostate cancer. Even those with high-risk cancer were still twice as likely to die from causes unrelated to their cancer.
Lead researcher, Pietro Scilipoti, MD, of Uppsala University in Sweden and IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital in Italy stated, “Our data support adherence to guideline recommendations for treatment of prostate cancer. If guideline-recommended treatment is used, most people with prostate cancer will live for many years after diagnosis. That includes active surveillance as an excellent treatment strategy for appropriately selected people.”
“This study offers a big sigh of relief for many men facing a prostate cancer diagnosis,” said Ahmad Shabsigh, MD, of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, and a member of the NCCN Guidelines Panel for Prostate Cancer, though not involved in the study. “It reveals that with NCCN Guidelines-recommended treatment, you're significantly more likely to die from something else—up to six times more likely, in fact—even if your cancer is high-risk. This holds true even when looking at data from a different healthcare system, like Sweden's. What's truly striking is that for patients with low-risk prostate cancer, many of whom were on active surveillance, the 30-year mortality risk from the cancer itself was only about 11%. It really underscores the power of evidence-based treatment plans and the importance of focusing on a person's overall health, not just their cancer.”