Prostate cancer in Asia: design of a patient registry to inform real-world treatments, outcomes, and quality of life

Clinical significance of serum high sensitive C-reactive protein/albumin ratio in primary prostate biopsy

Objective

The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of serum high sensitive C-reactive protein/albumin ratio in primary prostate biopsy.

Methods

Retrospective analysis was done on the clinical data of 1679 patients who had their first transrectal or perineal prostate biopsy at our situation from 2010 to 2018. Prostate cancer (PCa) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) were the pathologic diagnoses in 819 and 860 cases, respectively. A comparison was made between the HAR differences between PCa and BPH patients as well as the positive prostate biopsy rate differences between groups with increased and normal HAR. The results of the prostate biopsy were examined using logistic regression, and a model for predicting prostate cancer was created. The receiver characteristic curve (ROC) was used to determine the model's prediction effectiveness. The clinical models integrated into HAR were evaluated for their potential to increase classification efficacy using net reclassification improvement (NRI) and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI). According to the Gleason score (GS) categorization system, prostate cancer patients were separated into low, middle, and high GS groups. The differences in HAR between the various groups were then compared. The prevalence of high GSPCa and metastatic PCa in normal populations and the prevalence of higher HAR in prostate cancer patients were compared using the chi-square test.

Result

Patients with PCa had a median HAR (upper quartile to lower quartile) of 0.0379 (10-3), patients with BPH had a median HAR (0.0137 (10-3)), and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). Patients with increased HAR and the normal group, respectively, had positive prostate biopsy rates of 52% (435/839)and 46% (384/840), and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that HAR (OR=3.391, 95%CI 2.082 ~ 4.977, P < 0.05), PSA density (PSAD) (OR=7.248, 95%CI 5.005 ~ 10.495, P < 0.05) and age (OR=1.076, 95%CI 1.056 ~ 1.096, P < 0.05) was an independent predictor of prostate biopsy results. Two prediction models are built: a clinical model based on age and PSAD, and a prediction model that adds HAR to the clinical model. The two models' ROC had area under the curves (AUC) of 0.814 (95%CI 0.78-0.83) and 0.815 (95%CI 0.79-0.84), respectively. When compared to a single blood total PSA (tPSA) with an AUC of 0.746 (95%CI 0.718-0.774), they were all superior. Nevertheless, there was no statistically significant difference (p<0.05) between the two models. We assessed the prediction model integrated into HAR's capacity to increase classification efficiency using NRI and IDI, and we discovered that NRI>0, IDI>0, and the difference was statistically significant (P>0.05).There was a statistically significant difference in HAR between various GS groups for individuals who had prostate cancer as a consequence of biopsy (p<0.05). The incidence of high GS and metastatic patients was statistically significantly greater (p<0.05) in the HAR elevated group (90.1%and 39.3%, respectively) than in the HAR normal group (84.4% and 12.0%).

Conclusion

Prostate biopsy results that were positive were impacted by HAR, an independent factor that increased with the rate of PCa discovery. Patients with elevated HAR had a greater risk of high GS as well as metastatic PCa among those with recently diagnosed prostate cancer through prostate biopsy.

Prostate cancer management in Southeast Asian countries: a survey of clinical practice patterns

Background

Prostate cancer (PC) has a serious public health impact, and its incidence is rising due to the aging population. There is limited evidence and consensus to guide the management of PC in Southeast Asia (SEA). We present real-world data on clinical practice patterns in SEA for advanced PC care.

Method

A paper-based survey was used to identify clinical practice patterns and obtain consensus among the panelists. The survey included the demographics of the panelists, the use of clinical guidelines, and clinical practice patterns in the management of advanced PC in SEA.

Results

Most panelists (81%) voted prostate-specific antigen (PSA) as the most effective test for early PC diagnosis and risk stratification. Nearly 44% of panelists agreed that prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography-computed tomography imaging for PC diagnostic and staging information aids local and systemic therapy decisions. The majority of the panel preferred abiraterone acetate (67%) or docetaxel (44%) as first-line therapy for symptomatic mCRPC patients. Abiraterone acetate (50%) is preferred over docetaxel as a first-line treatment in metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer patients with high-volume disease. However, the panel did not support the use of abiraterone acetate in non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC) patients. Apalutamide (75%) is the preferred treatment option for patients with nmCRPC. The cost and availability of modern treatments and technologies are important factors influencing therapeutic decisions. All panelists supported the use of generic versions of approved therapies.

Conclusion

The survey results reflect real-world management of advanced PC in a SEA country. These findings could be used to guide local clinical practices and highlight the financial challenges of modern healthcare.

Incidence and mortality projections for major cancers among Korean men until 2034, with a focus on prostate cancer

Purpose

The Korean population is rapidly aging, and the cancer burden is expected to change significantly. This study aimed to generate projections of incidence and mortality of major cancers among men in Korea until 2034, with a special focus on prostate cancer.

Materials and Methods

Cancer incidence data from 1999 to 2016 were obtained from the Korea National Cancer Incidence Database. Mortality data were obtained from Statistics Korea. The most common cancers among Korean men (stomach, colorectum, liver, lung and prostate) were analyzed. To predict the future trends of these cancers, the age-period-cohort method was conducted and extrapolated up to 2034.

Results

In Korean men, prostate cancer was the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer in 2016. Based on newly diagnosed cases, the leading cancer site in the year 2034 is expected to be the lung, and the prostate is expected to be the second most frequently diagnosed cancer among Korean men. Age-standardized incidence rates of the most common cancers in men, except prostate cancer, are expected to decrease until 2034. Lung cancer is projected to remain the most common cause of cancer-related mortality until 2034, and the highest estimated change in cancer deaths is expected to be for prostate cancer.

Conclusions

In Korea, the incidence and mortality of prostate cancer is expected to increase markedly in the period up to 2034, particularly in older men. Concerted efforts in screening, diagnosis, and treatment strategies should be considered by healthcare planners and providers.

A Narrative Review of Implementing Precision Oncology in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer in Emerging Countries

The therapeutic landscape of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) has evolved considerably with the introduction of newer agents, such as poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors targeting DNA damage repair mutations. Combining and sequencing novel and existing therapies appropriately is necessary for optimizing the management of mCRPC and ensuring better treatment outcomes. The purpose of this review is to provide evidence-based answers to key clinical questions on treatment selection, treatment sequencing patterns, and factors influencing treatment decisions in the management of mCRPC in the era of PARP inhibitors. This article can also serve as a comprehensive guide to clinicians for optimizing genetic testing and counseling and management of patients with mCRPC. Although the PROfound study has validated the concept of PARP sensitivity across multiple genes associated with homologous recombination repair (HRR) in mCRPC and highlighted the importance of genomic testing in this at-risk patient population, it still remains unclear how patients with rarer HRR mutations will respond to PARP inhibitors. Therefore, real-world data obtained through registry-based randomized controlled trials in the future may help produce robust scientific evidence for supporting optimal clinician decision-making in the management of mCRPC.

Landscape of Carbon Ion Radiotherapy in Prostate Cancer: Clinical Application and Translational Research

Carbon ion radiotherapy (CIRT) is a useful and advanced technique for prostate cancer. This study sought to investigate the clinical efficacy and translational research for prostate cancer with carbon ion radiotherapy. We integrated the data from published articles, clinical trials websites, and our data. The efficacy of CIRT for prostate cancer was assessed in terms of overall survival, biochemical recurrence-free survival, and toxicity response. Up to now, clinical treatment of carbon ion radiotherapy has been carried in only five countries. We found that carbon ion radiotherapy induced little genitourinary and gastrointestinal toxicity when used for prostate cancer treatment. To some extent, it led to improved outcomes in overall survival, biochemical recurrence-free survival than conventional radiotherapy, especially for high-risk prostate cancer. Carbon ion radiotherapy brought clinical benefits for prostate cancer patients, and quality of life assessment indicated that CIRT affected patients to a lesser extent. Potential biomarkers from our omics-based study could be used to predict the efficacy of prostate cancer with CIRT. Carbon ion radiotherapy brought clinical benefits for prostate cancer patients. The omics-based translational research may provide insights into individualized therapy.

Prostate cancer in multi-ethnic Asian men: Real-world experience in the Malaysia Prostate Cancer (M-CaP) Study

Prostate cancer is the third most common cancer in Malaysia with the lifetime risk of 1 in 117 men. Here, we initiated a longitudinal Malaysia Prostate Cancer (M‐CaP) Study to investigate the clinical and tumour characteristics, treatment patterns as well as disease outcomes of multi‐ethnic Asian men at real‐world setting. The M‐CaP database consisted of 1839 new patients with prostate cancer diagnosed between 2016 and 2018 from nine public urology referral centres across Malaysia. Basic demographic and clinical parameters, tumour characteristics, primary treatment, follow‐up and vital status data were retrieved prospectively from the hospital‐based patients’ case notes or electronic medical records. Primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and biochemical progression‐free survival (bPFS). The median age at diagnosis of M‐CaP patients was 70 years (interquartile range, IQR 65–75). Majority of patients were Chinese (831, 45.2%), followed by Malays (704, 38.3%), Indians (124, 6.7%) and other races (181, 9.8%). The median follow‐up for all patients was 23.5 months (IQR 15.9–33.6). Although 58.1% presented with late‐stage cancer, we observed ethnic and geographic disparities in late‐stage prostate cancer diagnosis. Curative radiotherapy and primary androgen deprivation therapy were the most common treatment for stage III and stage IV diseases, respectively. The median OS and bPFS of stage IV patients were 40.1 months and 19.2 months (95% CI 17.6–20.8), respectively. Late stage at presentation remains a challenge in multi‐ethnic Asian men. Early detection is imperative to improve treatment outcome and survival of patients with prostate cancer.

Clinical use of expanded prostate cancer index composite-based health-related quality of life outcomes after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer

Background

This study aimed to assess the longitudinal health-related quality of life (HRQOL) using the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC) and HRQOL change between the nerve-sparing technique in Japanese men treated with robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP).

Methods

A total of 573 patients who received RARP were included in this study. EPIC questionnaire was administered before treatment and up to 36 months after RARP. Clinical recovery was defined as half of the standard deviation of the baseline score for each domain. We divided all patients into recovery group or nonrecovery group. The time from survey to each domain recovery was calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method. We compared the sexual and urinary score change between groups using analysis of variance to confirm the effect of nerve-sparing technique.

Results

The median age was 67 years (interquartile range, 62–71 years). The mean score of all urinary domains worsened noticeably after 1 month. All postoperative urinary summary, function, and incontinence scores were significantly lower than preoperative scores up to 3 years post-RARP. Postoperative sexual summary and functional scores were significantly lower than preoperative score at all follow-up times throughout the 36 months. The recovery rate for the urinary incontinence domain was the lowest (44.5%), whereas the recovery rate for the urinary irritative–obstructive domain was the highest (73.7%). In the sexual domain, the bother domain had a higher recovery rate (73.0%) than the functional domain (29.7%). Although the recovery of sexual domains was slower compared with other domains, by 36 months after RARP, almost all values had recovered. Compared with other technique groups, bilateral intrafascial nerve-sparing group showed significantly decreased change in subscale scores before and after RARP in several sexual and urinary domain.

Conclusion

The time course and extent of functional and bother domain recovery documented in this study may prove useful for RARP patient selection in Japan.

Recent trend of androgen deprivation therapy in newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients: Comparing between high- and middle-income Asian countries

The number of newly diagnosed prostate cancer cases varies across Asia, with higher mortality‐to‐incidence ratio reported in developing nations. Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), alone or in combination, remains the mainstay of first‐line treatment for advanced prostate cancer. Key findings of extensive research and randomized controlled trials have shaped current clinical practice and influenced clinical guideline recommendations. We describe here the recent trend of ADT in newly diagnosed prostate cancer for Asia focusing on Japan (high‐income country) and Malaysia (middle‐income country) based on the Asian Prostate Cancer (A‐CaP) Study. The combination of radiotherapy and ADT or ADT alone was common in patients with intermediate‐to‐high risk localized and locally advanced disease. For metastatic prostate cancer, maximum androgen blockade (gonadotrophin‐releasing hormone [GnRH] agonist/antagonist plus antiandrogen) was prevalent among the Japanese patients while primary ADT alone with GnRH agonist/antagonist was widely practiced in the Malaysian cohort. Upfront combined therapy (ADT plus docetaxel or androgen receptor pathway inhibitor) has significantly improved the outcomes of patients with metastatic castration‐naïve prostate cancer. Its application, however, remains low in our cohorts due to patients’ financial capacity and national health insurance coverage. Early detection remains the cornerstone in prostate cancer control to improve treatment outcome and patient survival.

Androgen deprivation therapy and risk of cognitive dysfunction in men with prostate cancer: is there a possible link?

The expansion of the indication to use androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) to treat patients with advanced or metastatic prostate cancer has dramatically increased over the recent decades, resulting in the progress of patients’ survival. However, chronic health implications can become more apparent as the number of long-term cancer survivors is expected to be increased along with the adverse effect of ADT. In particular, interest in investigating ADT, especially luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonist association with cognitive dysfunction has been growing. Previous studies in animals and humans suggest that the level of androgen decreases with age and that cognitive decline occurs with decreases in androgen. Correspondingly, some of the extensive studies using common neurocognitive tests have shown that LHRH agonists may affect specific domains of cognitive function (e.g., visuospatial abilities and executive function). However, the results from these studies have not consistently demonstrated the association because of its intrinsic limitations. Large-scale studies based on electronic databases have also failed to show consistent results to make decisive conclusions because of its heterogeneity, complexity of covariates, and possible risk of biases. Thus, this review article summarizes key findings and discusses the results of several studies investigating the ADT association with cognitive dysfunction and risk of dementia from various perspectives.

United in Fight against prOstate cancer (UFO) registry: first results from a large, multi-centre, prospective, longitudinal cohort study of advanced prostate cancer in Asia

Objectives

To document the management of advanced prostate cancer including diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and care, in real‐world practice in Asia using the United in Fight against prOstate cancer (UFO) registry.

Patients and Methods

We established a multi‐national, longitudinal, observational registry of patients with prostate cancer presenting to participating tertiary care hospitals in eight Asian countries. A total of 3636 eligible patients with existing or newly diagnosed high‐risk localised prostate cancer (HRL), non‐metastatic biochemically recurrent prostate cancer (M0), or metastatic prostate cancer (M1), were consecutively enrolled and are being followed‐up for 5 years. Patient history, demographic and disease characteristics, treatment and treatment decisions, were collected at first prostate cancer diagnosis and at enrolment. Patient‐reported quality of life was prospectively assessed using the European Quality of Life‐five Dimensions, five Levels (EQ‐5D‐5L) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy for Prostate Cancer questionnaires. In the present study, we report the first interim analysis of 2063 patients enrolled from study start (15 September 2015) until 18 May 2017.

Results

Of the 2063 enrolled patients, 357 (17%), 378 (19%), and 1328 (64%) had HRL, M0 or M1 prostate cancer, respectively. The mean age at first diagnosis was similar in each group, 56% of all patients had extracapsular extension of their tumour, 28% had regional lymph node metastasis, and 53% had distant metastases. At enrolment, 62% of patients had at least one co‐morbidity (mainly cardiovascular disease or diabetes), 91.8% of M1 patients had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance score of <2 and the mean EQ‐5D‐5L visual analogue score was 74.6–79.6 across cohorts. Treatment of M1 patients was primarily with combined androgen blockade (58%) or androgen‐deprivation therapy (either orchidectomy or luteinising hormone‐releasing hormone analogues) (32%). Decisions to start therapy were mainly driven by treatment guidelines and disease progression. Decision to discontinue therapy was most often due to disease progression (hormonal drug therapy) or completion of therapy (chemotherapy).

Conclusion

In the UFO registry of advanced prostate cancer in Asia, regional differences exist in prostate cancer treatment patterns that will be explored more deeply during the follow‐up period; prospective follow‐up is ongoing. The UFO registry will provide valuable descriptive data on current disease characteristics and treatment landscape amongst patients with prostate cancer in Asia.

Negative recollections regarding doctor-patient interactions among men receiving a prostate cancer diagnosis: a qualitative study of patient experiences in Japan

OBJECTIVES

To explore the negative recollections of prostate cancer patients regarding the attitudes and language used by the doctors in delivering their diagnoses in Japan, in order to improve patient-centred communication.

DESIGN AND SETTING

This is a qualitative secondary analysis of the prostate cancer narrative data from the Database of Individual Patients' Experiences-Japan archives. A thematic analysis was conducted regarding negative recollections of doctors' words/attitudes when delivering a cancer diagnosis. Recruitment was based on maximum variation sampling. Participants were recruited from medical institutions, patient associations and through media advertisements.

PARTICIPANTS

Men with a diagnosis of prostate cancer (n=51).

FINDINGS

Of the 51 participants, 17 had negative recollections of the doctors' words/attitudes during the delivery of the cancer diagnosis. After thematic analysis, 11 categories emerged: 'Surprised by the abrupt disclosure of the diagnosis', 'Displeased by the direct disclosure of the diagnosis to the patient in the absence of family members', 'Unable to accept the doctor's negative words in the explanations', 'Unable to understand the doctor's technical jargon', 'Distrust due to failure in diagnosis based on previous examinations', 'Aggrieved at the doctor's unwillingness to allow questions', 'Dissatisfied with explanations involving facts only', 'Indignant over the unexpected disclosure of life expectancy', 'Unable to accept the doctor's blame for the delay in the initial hospital visit', 'Uncomfortable with the usage of inappropriate metaphors' and 'Pessimistic thoughts despite optimistic explanations'.

CONCLUSIONS

It is clear that patients have recollections of a variety of negative experiences regarding the words/attitudes of their doctors at the time they received their prostate cancer diagnosis. Thus, the use of narrative data would facilitate the appropriate application of commonly used guidelines for the delivery of cancer diagnoses tailored to individual patients in clinical practice.