Comparison of survival in patients with low vs. intermediate prostate-specific antigen concentrations and development of a nomogram: a surveillance, epidemiology and end results program database study with external validation on a Chinese cohort

Background In this study of patients with prostate cancer, we explored associations between low prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentrations and disease progression as well as prognosis. Methods We retrospectively reviewed data of 233,554 prostate cancer patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology...

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Main Authors: Jingchang Mei, Guanqun Zhu, Yu Yao, Fengju Guan, Lijiang Sun, Guiming Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2025-08-01
Series:PeerJ
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Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/19823.pdf
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author Jingchang Mei
Guanqun Zhu
Yu Yao
Fengju Guan
Lijiang Sun
Guiming Zhang
author_facet Jingchang Mei
Guanqun Zhu
Yu Yao
Fengju Guan
Lijiang Sun
Guiming Zhang
author_sort Jingchang Mei
collection DOAJ
description Background In this study of patients with prostate cancer, we explored associations between low prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentrations and disease progression as well as prognosis. Methods We retrospectively reviewed data of 233,554 prostate cancer patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program and of 199 prostate cancer patients from the medical records of the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University with PSA ≤10 ng/mL at diagnosis. The patients were stratified into eight subgroups by T stage and Gleason score (GS) and survival curves for the resultant subgroups plotted using the Kaplan–Meier method. Multivariate Cox analyses were performed to investigate the effects of PSA concentrations in different subgroups. After randomly dividing patients into a training set and an internal validation set with a ratio of 7:3, a nomogram model to predict the survival of prostate cancer patients was subsequently established and validated. Results In all prostate cancer patients with Gleason score (GS) 8–10, low PSA concentrations were significantly associated with advanced disease and poor prognosis, functioning as a statistically significant risk factor. Conversely, in patients with GS 6–7 and Stage T1 disease, low PSA concentrations acted as a protective factor. A nomogram model for predicting prognosis was established and validated. We obtained similar results with an external validation cohort. Conclusions Our findings indicate that low PSA concentrations exert divergent impacts on prostate cancer patients stratified by T stage and GS. Specifically, in patients with high GS (8–10), low PSA concentrations represent a risk factor for disease progression to advanced stages and poor prognosis. Additionally, we developed a novel nomogram that effectively predicts survival outcomes in these patients.
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spelling doaj-art-e7b9df13d9be4152b865789b47a896c42025-08-20T03:44:43ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592025-08-0113e1982310.7717/peerj.19823Comparison of survival in patients with low vs. intermediate prostate-specific antigen concentrations and development of a nomogram: a surveillance, epidemiology and end results program database study with external validation on a Chinese cohortJingchang MeiGuanqun ZhuYu YaoFengju GuanLijiang SunGuiming ZhangBackground In this study of patients with prostate cancer, we explored associations between low prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentrations and disease progression as well as prognosis. Methods We retrospectively reviewed data of 233,554 prostate cancer patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program and of 199 prostate cancer patients from the medical records of the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University with PSA ≤10 ng/mL at diagnosis. The patients were stratified into eight subgroups by T stage and Gleason score (GS) and survival curves for the resultant subgroups plotted using the Kaplan–Meier method. Multivariate Cox analyses were performed to investigate the effects of PSA concentrations in different subgroups. After randomly dividing patients into a training set and an internal validation set with a ratio of 7:3, a nomogram model to predict the survival of prostate cancer patients was subsequently established and validated. Results In all prostate cancer patients with Gleason score (GS) 8–10, low PSA concentrations were significantly associated with advanced disease and poor prognosis, functioning as a statistically significant risk factor. Conversely, in patients with GS 6–7 and Stage T1 disease, low PSA concentrations acted as a protective factor. A nomogram model for predicting prognosis was established and validated. We obtained similar results with an external validation cohort. Conclusions Our findings indicate that low PSA concentrations exert divergent impacts on prostate cancer patients stratified by T stage and GS. Specifically, in patients with high GS (8–10), low PSA concentrations represent a risk factor for disease progression to advanced stages and poor prognosis. Additionally, we developed a novel nomogram that effectively predicts survival outcomes in these patients.https://peerj.com/articles/19823.pdfProstate cancerProstate-specific antigenGleason scoreT stageSurvivalSEER
spellingShingle Jingchang Mei
Guanqun Zhu
Yu Yao
Fengju Guan
Lijiang Sun
Guiming Zhang
Comparison of survival in patients with low vs. intermediate prostate-specific antigen concentrations and development of a nomogram: a surveillance, epidemiology and end results program database study with external validation on a Chinese cohort
PeerJ
Prostate cancer
Prostate-specific antigen
Gleason score
T stage
Survival
SEER
title Comparison of survival in patients with low vs. intermediate prostate-specific antigen concentrations and development of a nomogram: a surveillance, epidemiology and end results program database study with external validation on a Chinese cohort
title_full Comparison of survival in patients with low vs. intermediate prostate-specific antigen concentrations and development of a nomogram: a surveillance, epidemiology and end results program database study with external validation on a Chinese cohort
title_fullStr Comparison of survival in patients with low vs. intermediate prostate-specific antigen concentrations and development of a nomogram: a surveillance, epidemiology and end results program database study with external validation on a Chinese cohort
title_full_unstemmed Comparison of survival in patients with low vs. intermediate prostate-specific antigen concentrations and development of a nomogram: a surveillance, epidemiology and end results program database study with external validation on a Chinese cohort
title_short Comparison of survival in patients with low vs. intermediate prostate-specific antigen concentrations and development of a nomogram: a surveillance, epidemiology and end results program database study with external validation on a Chinese cohort
title_sort comparison of survival in patients with low vs intermediate prostate specific antigen concentrations and development of a nomogram a surveillance epidemiology and end results program database study with external validation on a chinese cohort
topic Prostate cancer
Prostate-specific antigen
Gleason score
T stage
Survival
SEER
url https://peerj.com/articles/19823.pdf
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