Annual ACS NCDB report details national trends in prostate cancer care

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) has published its second annual report from the National Cancer Database (NCDB), providing in-depth data on cancer treatment and outcomes across different malignancies, including prostate cancer.¹

“The NCDB report includes clinically relevant data intended to inform not only researchers but also the public on recent observations of cancer involving the latest treatment, surgical options, and cancer outcomes,” said co-author Ronald J. Weigel, MD, PhD, MBA, FACS, medical director of ACS Cancer Programs and professor of surgery at the University of Iowa, in a news release on the findings.² “As care at [Commission on Cancer]-accredited facilities continues to advance, our hope is that this report reflects the vastly changing clinical landscape of cancer treatments using the latest evidence-based treatments.”

The NCDB is jointly run by the ACS and the American Cancer Society and includes data on nearly 75% of cancer cases across the US. The recent report summarizes data from over 22 million cancer cases across 1250 Commission on Cancer hospitals from 2004 to 2022.

In 2022, the 5 most common cancers in adult men were prostate, lung (bronchus-non-small cell carcinoma), melanoma of the skin, urinary bladder, and colon. In adult women, the 5 most common cancers were breast, lung (bronchus-non-small cell carcinoma), corpus uteri, colon, and melanoma of the skin.

The report also provides in-depth data for 3 cancer types. In its first annual report, the ACS focused on breast, pancreas, and colon. In the most recent report, the authors detail treatment and outcome data across prostate, esophageal, and melanoma.

Data from the prostate cancer analysis showed that the most common stage at diagnosis was stage 2.

Further, the data indicated that more patients with prostate cancer are being treated with non-surgical options. The percentage of patients who received a treatment other than surgery was 54% in 2018, which rose to approximately 60% in 2022. Among patients who had received surgery, 85.4% received a prostatectomy.

The report also indicated that prostate cancer survival was most dependent on clinical stage, grade, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level. Specifically, a PSA level greater than 20 ng/mL at the time of diagnosis as well as higher cancer stage and grade of tumor were associated with worse survival outcomes.

According to the ACS, future reports will provide detailed information on 3 other cancer types.

REFERENCES

1. Habermann EB, Day CN, Palis BE, et al. National Cancer Statistics: American College of Surgeons Cancer Programs Annual Report from 2022 Participant User File. J Am Coll Surg. 2026 Jan 21. doi:10.1097/XCS.0000000000001747

2. Treating cancer with medication before surgery continues to increase, report shows. News release. American College of Surgeons. January 22, 2026. Accessed January 27, 2026. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1113638