Meta-analysis of the literature: guideline development for prostate cancer treatment. American Urological Association Prostate Cancer Guideline Panel.

Medical interventions are identified to be in need of practice guidelines based on several criteria, including uncertainty of therapeutic benefit, economic impact, variation in practice patterns and lack of objective data for new developments. Treatment of localized adenocarcinoma of the prostate meets these criteria and has been identified as an issue in need of practice guideline development. The American Urological Association began working toward establishing prostate cancer treatment guidelines in 1989. An explicit method based on collection of scientific data was adopted, which requires complete review of the literature and analysis of the evidence collected. An update on the progress toward this data analysis and guideline document is presented.