PONE-D-20-20673

Clinical characteristics and primary management of patients diagnosed with prostate cancer between 2015 and 2019 at the Uganda Cancer Institute

PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Katangole,

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Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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[Funds from the African Development bank under Uganda Cancer institute support PK's doctoral

191 work. PK also is receiving support from a training grant and by Grant Number D43TW010132

192 supported by Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health (OD), National Institute of

193 Dental & Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and

194 Stroke (NINDS), National Heart, Lung, And Blood Institute (NHLBI), Fogarty International

195 Center (FIC), National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). It was

196 funded in part (SJR) by the Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and

197 Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Its contents are solely the authors' responsibility and do not

198 necessarily represent the supporting offices' official views.]

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Reviewer #1: Partly

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: I Don't Know

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

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Reviewer #1: 1. Please clarify in the methodology (Line 84-85) that:

The risk stratification is designed mostly for localized prostate cancer; classified as either Low risk: cT1-2a, PSA<10, GS-6; intermediate-risk: cT2b-c, PSA 10–20, GS 7; High-risk: T3-T4, PSA>20. Locally advanced cancer is also designated as high risk.

2. The study results showed that 99.12% of prostate cancer patients presented with advanced with advanced disease. It would have been essential to document various cadre of metastatic prostate cancer like Metastatic Castration-Naïve Prostate cancer (mCNPC), Castrate-sensitive prostate cancer (CSPC) or Metastatic Castrate-Resistant Prostate cancer and various treatment options (mCRPC). If not, you can mention that it was possible due to poor documentation.

3. In the Results line 115 and 116, the authors have confused hormonotherapy (bicalutamide) with chemotherapeutic agents (docetaxel and taxanes); please rectify.

4. In line 135 and 138, both sentences subsequently began with ‘in this study’. Please rephrase to reduce monotony.

5. In line 142 to 144, you mentioned the lack of immunotherapy as a probable limitation to prostate cancer care. To date there is insufficient evidence to the suggest the role of immunotherapy in the management of prostate cancer. Please rectify.

6. Regarding line 146 and 149, enzalutamide and bicalutamide are better considered as androgen deprivation therapy or hormonotherapy when managing prostate cancer. Avoid referring to them as chemotherapy.

7. Please rephrase the conclusion to present a take home message or recommendation; it is currently structured like an abstract. Ex. The first sentence of the conclusion may be replaced with a finding or recommendation.

Reviewer #2: In your table 1, it would be helpful if you included percentages as well in the column to the right in addition to the raw numbers. In table 3, in two rows of the column to the right there are extra numbers to the side that is unclear what they refer to.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes: Mark Mann

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Clinical characteristics and primary management of patients diagnosed with prostate cancer between 2015 and 2019 at the Uganda Cancer Institute

PONE-D-20-20673R1

Dear Dr. KATONGOLE,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

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Kind regards,

Lucia R. Languino, Ph.D.

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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