Health information

IDEA has innovated in online health information by developing the ProstateCalculator tool.

Though prostate cancer strikes one in six men, early detection saves thousands of lives. For men concerned about their personal risk of contracting a serious prostate-related condition, this public service site, part of a cancer research project, provides in-depth medical information and makes individual, pattern-based risk predictions.

ProstateCalculator.org was developed in partnership with IDEA. Using complex computer models (neural networks) and data collected from over ten thousand patients, ProstrateCalculator.org provides users with pattern-based risk predictions.

The innovative and patient-friendly interface allows patients to input relevant personal information and details specific to their current treatment regime. Users are then provided with vital information across a range of prognostic areas, including:

Estimated Survival: Based on age, race, clinical variables, treatment type, and other comorbidities, this unparalleled model generates a 10-year survival estimate for men with clinically localized prostate cancer.

Treatment Failure & Recurrence: This model is capable of identifying the probability of being free of disease recurrence seven years after radical prostatectomy for those with clinically localized prostate cancer.

Estimated Cancer Stage: For those men with clinically localized prostate cancer, two models work to provide accurate estimates with respect to the probabilities of having cancer spread to the lymph nodes. These probabilities are derived on the basis of numerous variables, including age, PSA, tumor grade, and clinical stage.

Estimated Biopsy Outcome: This model is capable of producing an estimated risk of a positive biopsy in men who are suspected of having prostate cancer. This prediction is made on the basis of the patient’s age, race, PSA, and prostate volume.

As a public service project, ProstateCalculator.org provides scientifically sound predictions to men concerned about their health when faced with the prospects of prostate cancer. Currently, ProstateCalculator.org receives over a half million unique users per year.