Journal: Aktuelle Urologie
This publication reports initial results from the German National Prostate Cancer Registry (ProNAT), a prospective, non-interventional, multicenter registry designed to capture real-world prostate cancer management across outpatient and inpatient sectors.
Study design and population
- Prospective registry including patients with histologically confirmed prostate cancer from 55 urology centers.
- Enrollment: As of August 2025, 3,417 patients enrolled; 3,052 were analyzable.
- Median age: 69 years; 91.1% had ECOG performance status 0–1.
- Frequent comorbidities: arterial hypertension (30.6%), cardiovascular disease (9.1%), and diabetes mellitus (8.2%).
Disease characteristics and diagnostics
- Disease stage at diagnosis: 6.7% had metastatic disease; 77.6% had localized T1–T2 tumors.
- Imaging: Multiparametric MRI prior to biopsy was performed in 36.6% of patients, reflecting partial but incomplete adherence to guideline-recommended imaging practices.
Treatment patterns
- Curative surgery: predominantly performed robotically (87.7% of surgical cases).
- Low-risk disease (Gleason 3 + 3): 35.1% managed with active surveillance and 37.8% underwent surgery, indicating a substantial proportion still receiving definitive local therapy despite low-risk features.
Supportive care and quality-of-care indicators
- Psycho-oncological support: documented in only 18.2% of patients, suggesting underutilization of supportive services.
- Registry structure: designed to evaluate guideline adherence, quality of care, and treatment sequencing over time, though more mature longitudinal data are pending.
Implications
- Real-world overview: provides the first broad picture of prostate cancer care in German urology practices.
- Guideline adherence: early data suggest improving uptake of guideline-aligned diagnostics but highlight gaps in supportive care provision and multidisciplinary management.
- Future analyses: ongoing accrual will enable more granular evaluation of treatment pathways, outcomes, and quality indicators across the disease continuum.