Predictive models for newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients.

Accurate risk assessment is of paramount importance to newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients and their physicians. Risk prediction models help identify those at high (or low) risk of disease progression and guide discussions about prognosis and treatment. Widely used, well-validated prediction tools are based on standard, readily available clinical and pathologic parameters, but do not include biomarkers, some of which may have an important role in predicting prognosis or determining therapeutic options. A new approach, known as systems pathology, may improve the accuracy of traditional prediction methods and provide patients with a more personalized risk assessment of clinically relevant outcomes. The ultimate goal of prediction models is to improve medical decision making.