Abstract
Background
To report active surveillance (AS) outcomes in patients with Grade Group (GG) 2 prostate cancer (PCa) according to the baseline amount of pattern 4 on image-guided biopsy.
Methods
Our database includes GG2 PCa patients managed with AS in ten European centers.
Results
In total, 104 patients were included (median pattern 4: 10%, ranges 5–40). The percentage of pattern 4 was not statistically correlated with upgrading (Spearman, r = 0.073, p = 0.5) or downgrading on confirmatory biopsy (r = −0.049, p = 0.6). The median follow-up was 33 months. In multivariable Cox regression analysis, percentage of pattern 4 was not associated with GG3 upgrading (p = 0.6) or definitive treatment (p = 0.4).
Conclusions
Patients with GG2 PCa should not be excluded from AS solely because of grade 4 > 10% when other parameters are otherwise favorable.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 6 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $43.17 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bjurlin MA, Meng X, Le Nobin J, Wysock JS, Lepor H, Rosenkrantz AB, et al. Optimization of prostate biopsy: the role of magnetic resonance imaging targeted biopsy in detection, localization and risk assessment. J Urol. 2014;192:648–58.
Kenigsberg AP, Renson A, Rosenkrantz AB, Huang R, Wysock JS, Taneja SS, et al. Optimizing the number of cores targeted during prostate magnetic resonance imaging fusion target biopsy. Eur Urol Oncol. 2018;1:418–25.
Sanguedolce F, Lauwers CNG, Tedde A, Basile G, Chernysheva D, Uleri A, et al. Regional versus systematic biopsy in addition to targeted biopsy: results from a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur Urol Oncol. 2025;8:534–43.
Cornford P, van den Bergh RCN, Briers E, Van den Broeck T, Brunckhorst O, Darraugh J, et al. EAU-EANM-ESTRO-ESUR-ISUP-SIOG guidelines on prostate cancer-2024 update. Part I: screening, diagnosis, and local treatment with curative intent. Eur Urol. 2024;86:148–63.
Morash C, Tey R, Agbassi C, Klotz L, McGowan T, Srigley J, et al. Active surveillance for the management of localized prostate cancer: guideline recommendations. Can Urol Assoc J. 2015;9:171–8.
Perera M, Assel MJ, Benfante NE, Vickers AJ, Reuter VE, Carlsson S, et al. Oncologic outcomes of total length Gleason pattern 4 on biopsy in men with grade group 2 prostate cancer. J Urol. 2022;208:309–16.
Perera M, Assel M, Nalavenkata S, Khaleel S, Benfante N, Carlsson SV, et al. Quantification of Gleason pattern 4 metrics identifies pathologic progression in patients with grade group 2 prostate cancer on active surveillance. Clin Genitourin Cancer. 2024;22:102204.
Lam TBL, MacLennan S, Willemse PM, Mason MD, Plass K, Shepherd R, et al. EAU-EANM-ESTRO-ESUR-SIOG prostate cancer guideline panel consensus statements for deferred treatment with curative intent for localised prostate cancer from an international collaborative study (DETECTIVE Study). Eur Urol. 2019;76:790–813.
Egevad L, Ahmad AS, Algaba F, Berney DM, Boccon-Gibod L, Compérat E, et al. Standardization of Gleason grading among 337 European pathologists. Histopathology. 2013;62:247–56.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Conceived and designed the analysis: MB, AU, GP; performed the analysis: MB, AU, GP; wrote the manuscript: MB, AU, GP; Collected data: AU, MB, RL, MO, AP, CK, MA, CD, HB, JO, ARR, FS, VB, OW, MV, GG, GP; provided critical feedback in shaping the manuscript: RL, MO, AP, CK, MA, CD, HB, JO, ARR, FS, VB, OW, MV, GG.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary information
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Uleri, A., Baboudjian, M., Leni, R. et al. Gleason pattern 4 and active surveillance in patients with grade group 2 prostate cancer. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 29, 205–206 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41391-025-00977-6
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Version of record:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41391-025-00977-6


