---
license: cc-by-4.0
task_categories:
  - tabular-classification
language:
  - en
tags:
  - healthcare
  - prostate-cancer
  - oncology
  - psa-screening
  - late-presentation
  - sub-saharan-africa
  - lmic
pretty_name: "Prostate Cancer (PSA, Staging, Treatment Access, Survival)"
size_categories:
  - 10K<n<100K
configs:
  - config_name: tertiary_oncology
    data_files: data/pca_tertiary_oncology.csv
  - config_name: district_hospital
    data_files: data/pca_district_hospital.csv
    default: true
  - config_name: rural_health_centre
    data_files: data/pca_rural_health_centre.csv
---

# Prostate Cancer Dataset

## Abstract

This dataset provides **30,000 simulated prostate cancer patient records** (10,000 per scenario) from sub-Saharan Africa. Each record contains 40+ variables including presentation, PSA, biopsy, staging, treatment, and survival. Three settings: tertiary oncology (40% 2yr mortality), district hospital (67%), and rural health centre (77%).

## 1. Introduction

Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in SSA with high incidence and mortality rates. Late-stage presentation is the norm — most men present with advanced disease. PSA screening is inconsistent, biopsy access limited, and radiotherapy severely restricted. ADT (often surgical castration) remains the primary treatment for many. Poor survival compared to high-income countries reflects late diagnosis and treatment access barriers.

**This dataset is entirely simulated. It must not be used for clinical decision-making.**

## 2. Methodology

### 2.1 Parameterization

| Parameter | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| #1 male cancer in SSA | Yes | PMC 2022 |
| Late-stage presentation | 55-62% Stage IV | PMC 2021 |
| PSA screening inconsistent | Yes | BJUI 2024 |
| Radiotherapy access | Very limited | PubMed 2024 |
| 5-year survival SSA | 15-55% | PMC 2021 |

### 2.2 Scenario Design

| Scenario | PSA | Biopsy | RT | Surgery | 2yr Mort |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Tertiary oncology | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 40% |
| District hospital | Yes | No | No | No | 67% |
| Rural HC | No | No | No | No | 77% |

## 3. Schema

| Column | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| id | int | Unique identifier |
| age | int | Patient age |
| presenting_symptom | categorical | luts / bone_pain / retention / haematuria |
| psa_tested | binary | PSA tested |
| psa_level | float | PSA level ng/ml |
| biopsy_performed | binary | Biopsy done |
| gleason_score | int | Gleason score |
| stage | categorical | I / II / III / IV |
| metastatic | binary | Metastatic disease |
| bone_metastases | binary | Bone mets |
| treatment_received | categorical | prostatectomy / radiotherapy / adt / palliative / none |
| died_within_2_years | binary | 2-year mortality |
| castration_resistant | binary | CRPC |

## 4. Validation

<p align="center">
  <img src="validation_report.png" alt="Validation Report" width="100%">
</p>

Key validation checks:

- **2yr mortality gradient**: 40% → 67% → 77% ✓
- **Stage IV**: 42% → 55% → 61% ✓
- **No treatment**: 12% → 29% → 57% ✓
- **PSA access**: 80% → 79% → 0% ✓
- **Late presentation dominant** ✓
- **Referral gap** significant ✓

## 5. Usage

```python
from datasets import load_dataset
dataset = load_dataset("electricsheepafrica/prostate-cancer", "district_hospital")
df = dataset["train"].to_pandas()
```

## 6. Limitations

- **Simulated**: Not from real cancer registries.
- **No genomic data**: No BRCA/DNA repair markers.
- **Simplified staging**: No detailed TNM.
- **No longitudinal PSA**: No serial measurements.
- **2-year outcome only**: No 5/10-year survival.

## 7. References

1. PMC (2022). PCa screening/diagnosis/treatment in SSA.
2. PMC (2023). Public awareness PCa screening South Africa.
3. BJUI (2024). Global viewpoints PCa in SSA.
4. PMC (2021). PCa survival SSA by stage.
5. PubMed (2023). PCa management barriers in SSA.
6. PubMed (2018). Radiotherapy PCa Ghana.
7. PubMed (2024). Radiotherapy access barriers SSA.

## Citation

```bibtex
@dataset{esa_prostate_cancer_2025,
  title={Prostate Cancer Dataset},
  author={Electric Sheep Africa},
  year={2025},
  publisher={Hugging Face},
  url={https://huggingface.co/datasets/electricsheepafrica/prostate-cancer}
}
```

## License

[CC-BY-4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)