Nomograms as a Tool in Predicting Prostate Cancer Prognosis

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a heterogeneous disease with different disease states. Clinical judgment has significant biases. Nomograms are graphical calculating tools that use several clinical variables to determine a specific clinical Outcome. Nomograms as prediction tools use multiple variables and Continuous variables continuously, and their characteristics include patient populations, clinical end points, accuracy, and whether internal and/or external validations were performed. Numerous nomograms are available for most PCa stages, and their availability and accuracy make them powerful tools for the improvement of clinical prediction and important aids in personalised medicine for both patients and physicians. (C) 2009 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.