Contemporary prostate cancer radiation therapy in the United States: Patterns of care and compliance with quality measures

Biomarker-Directed Therapy in Black and White Men With Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

Importance

Black men have higher incidence and mortality from prostate cancer. Whether precision oncology disparities affect Black men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is unknown.

Objective

To compare precision medicine data and outcomes between Black and White men with mCRPC.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This retrospective cohort study used data collected by the Prostate Cancer Precision Medicine Multi-Institutional Collaborative Effort (PROMISE) consortium, a multi-institutional registry with linked clinicogenomic data, from April 2020 to December 2021. Participants included Black and White patients with mCRPC with molecular data. Data were analyzed from December 2021 to May 2023.

Exposures

Database-reported race and ethnicity.

Main Outcomes and Measures

The primary outcome was the frequency of actionable molecular data, defined as the presence of mismatch repair deficiency (MMRD) or high microsatellite instability (MSI-H), homologous recombination repair deficiency, or tumor mutational burden of 10 mutations per megabase or greater. Secondary outcomes included the frequency of other alterations, the type and timing of genomic testing performed, and use of targeted therapy. Efficacy outcomes were prostate-specific antigen response rate, site-reported radiographic response, and overall survival.

Results

A total of 962 eligible patients with mCRPC were identified, including 204 Black patients (21.2%; median [IQR] age at diagnosis, 61 [55-67] years; 131 patients [64.2%] with Gleason scores 8-10; 92 patients [45.1%] with de novo metastatic disease) and 758 White patients (78.8%; median [IQR] age, 63 [57-69] years; 445 patients [58.7%] with Gleason scores 8-10; 310 patients [40.9%] with de novo metastatic disease). Median (IQR) follow-up from mCRPC was 26.6 (14.2-44.7) months. Blood-based molecular testing was more common in Black men (111 men [48.7%]) than White men (317 men [36.4%]; P < .001). Rates of actionable alterations were similar between groups (65 Black men [32.8%]; 215 White men [29.1%]; P = .35), but MMRD or MSI-H was more common in Black men (18 men [9.1]) than White men (36 men [4.9%]; P = .04). PTEN alterations were less frequent in Black men than White men (31 men [15.7%] vs 194 men [26.3%]; P = .003), as were TMPRSS alterations (14 men [7.1%] vs 155 men [21.0%]; P < .001). No other differences were seen in the 15 most frequently altered genes, including TP53, AR, CDK12, RB1, and PIK3CA. Matched targeted therapy was given less frequently in Black men than White men (22 men [33.5%] vs 115 men [53.5%]; P = .008). There were no differences in response to targeted therapy or survival between the two cohorts.

Conclusions and Relevance

This cohort study of men with mCRPC found higher frequency of MMRD or MSI-H and lower frequency of PTEN and TMPRSS alterations in Black men compared with White men. Although Black men received targeted therapy less frequently than White men, no differences were observed in clinical outcomes.

Trends in prostate cancer mortality in the United States of America, by state and race, from 1999 to 2019: estimates from the centers for disease control WONDER database

BACKGROUND

In the United States of America (USA), prostate cancer (PC) is the most common cancer in men and the second cause of cancer mortality. Black men (BM) have a higher incidence and worse mortality when compared to white men (WM). We compared trends in PC mortality in the USA by race and state from 1999 to 2019.

METHODS

We extracted PC mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) WONDER database using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 10 code C61. Age-Standardized Mortality Rates (ASMR) were divided into racial groups and reported by year and state. Due to the lack of available data in many states, analyses were conducted only for WM and BM using Joinpoint regression for trend comparisons.

RESULTS

Between 1999-2019, ASMR decreased at the national level in Black (-44.6%), Asian (-44.8%), White (-31.8%), and American Indian or Alaskan native men (-19.0%). ASMR decreased in all states for both races. The greatest drop in ASMR was in Kentucky (-47.0%) for WM and Delaware (-57.8%) for BM. In 2019, ASMRs in BM (13.4/100 000) were significantly higher than WM (7.3/100 000), American Indian or Alaskan Native (3.2/100 000), and Asian men (3.2/100 000) (p < 0.001). The highest ASMRs were in Nebraska (33.5/100 000) for BM and Alaska (11/100 000) for WM.

CONCLUSIONS

During the last 20 years, the PC mortality rate dropped in all states for all races, suggesting an advancement in management strategies. Although a higher decrease in ASMR was observed in BM, ASMR remain higher among BM. ASMRs were also found to be increasing in many states post USPSTF guideline change (2012), indicating a need for more education around optimized prostate cancer screening.

Prostate cancer in New York City: impact of neighborhood level social determinants of care

Social determinants of health may impact prostate cancer presentation. Since neighborhoods may influence adjacent neighborhoods across often porous and arbitrary borders, we performed generalized spatial two stage least squares cross sections regression to assess direct and indirect (via adjacent neighborhoods) impact of neighborhood level independent variables. Using the New York State Public Access Cancer Epidemiology Data and the NYC Open neighborhood-level dataset, we discovered a direct association between Race and poverty with the likelihood of presenting with advanced prostate cancer. There were no indirect impacts of neighborhood variables, indicating the need to directly target neighborhoods to improve outcomes.

Association between adherence to radiation therapy quality metrics and patient reported outcomes in prostate cancer

BACKGROUND

Prior studies have shown significant variability in the quality of prostate cancer care in the US with questionable associations between quality measures and patient reported outcomes. We evaluated the impact of compliance with nationally recognized radiation therapy (RT) quality measures on patient-reported health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes in the Comparative Effectiveness Analysis of Surgery and Radiation (CEASAR) cohort.

METHODS

CEASAR is a population-based, prospective cohort study of men with localized prostate cancer from which we identified 649 who received primary RT and completed HRQOL surveys for inclusion. Eight quality measures were identified based on national guidelines. We analyzed the impact of compliance with these measures on HRQOL assessed by the 26-item Expanded Prostate Index Composite at pre-specified intervals up to 5 years after treatment. Multivariable analysis was performed controlling for demographic and clinicopathologic features.

RESULTS

Among eligible participants, 566 (87%) patients received external beam radiation therapy and 83 (13%) received brachytherapy. Median age was 69 years (interquartile range: 64-73), 33% had low-, 43% intermediate-, and 23% high-risk disease. 28% received care non-compliant with at least one measure. In multivariable analyses, while some statistically significant associations were identified, there were no clinically significant associations between compliance with evaluated RT quality measures and patient reported urinary irritative, urinary incontinence, bowel, sexual or hormonal function.

CONCLUSIONS

Compliance with RT quality measures was not meaningfully associated with patient-reported outcomes after prostate cancer treatment. Further work is needed to identify patient-centered quality measures of prostate cancer care.

Development of binational radiation therapy quality indicator reports for prostate cancer treatment using registry data

INTRODUCTION

Quality indicators (QIs) are metrics which seek to allow comparison of clinicians' and institutes' practice to best evidence-based practice. The Australia and New Zealand Prostate Cancer Outcomes Registry (PCOR-ANZ) is a bi-national clinical quality registry with coverage estimated to be over 60% of the men newly diagnosed with prostate cancer. We outline the production and ambition of institute-level QI reports to benchmark performance for radiation therapy in the treatment of prostate cancer.

METHODS

An expert clinician panel was assembled to create a list of candidate QIs based on a comprehensive literature review, and on modified Delphi-method and expert-consensus voting. A separate implementation group-including, clinicians, epidemiologists, data managers and data scientists-employed an evidence- and consensus- based approach to generate an effective QI report designed for automated production and regular distribution to participating institutes. Feedback from the recipient clinicians was sought to enable refinement of these reports.

RESULTS

Seven QIs, including three related to post-treatment symptoms, were deemed feasible to analyse with the currently available data. Utilising an existing report template employed for benchmarking of surgical indicators, a novel radiation therapy report was generated using registry data in a secure analytical environment. The first, beta version of these reports have been produced and confidentially distributed. It is planned to automatically generate these reports biannually and iteratively refine them based on the clinician input.

CONCLUSION

QI reports for the treatment of prostate cancer by radiation oncologists have been produced using data from Australia and New Zealand patients. These are being disseminated to institutes on a six-monthly basis allowing comparisons to de-identified peers. The reports aim to facilitate improving patient outcomes, deepen engagement with the radiation oncology community and increase the breadth of PCOR-ANZ coverage. Additional QIs will be included in future iterations of these reports as data matures.

GammaTile: Comprehensive Review of a Novel Radioactive Intraoperative Seed-Loading Device for the Treatment of Brain Tumors

GammaTile is a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-licensed device consisting of four cesium-131 (Cs-131) radiation-emitting seeds in the collagen tile about the postage stamp size. The tiles are utilized to line the brain cavity immediately after tumor resection. GammaTile therapy is a surgically targeted radiation therapy (STaRT) that helps provide instant, dose-intense treatment after the completion of resection. The objective of this study is to explore the safety and efficacy of GammaTile surgically targeted radiation therapy for brain tumors. This study also reviews the differences between GammaTile surgically targeted radiation therapy (STaRT) and other traditional treatment options for brain tumors. The electronic database searches utilized in this study include PubMed, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect. A total of 4,150 articles were identified based on the search strategy. Out of these articles, 900 articles were retrieved. A total of 650 articles were excluded for various reasons, thus retrieving 250 citations. We applied the exclusion and inclusion criteria to these retrieved articles by screening their full text and excluding 180 articles. Therefore, 70 citations were retrieved and included in this comprehensive literature review, as outlined in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) diagram. Based on the findings of this study, GammaTile surgically targeted radiation therapy (STaRT) is safe and effective for treating brain tumors. Similarly, the findings have also shown that the efficacy of GammaTile therapy can be enhanced by combining it with other standard-of-care treatment options/external beam radiation therapy (EBRT). Also, the results show that patients diagnosed with recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) exhibit poor median overall survival because of the possibility of the tumor returning. Therefore, combining STaRT with other standard-of-care treatment options/EBRT can improve the patient's overall survival (OS). GammaTile therapy enhances access to care, guarantees 100% compliance, and eliminates patients' need to travel regularly to hospitals for radiation treatments. Its implementation requires collaboration from various specialties, such as radiation oncology, medical physics, and neurosurgery.

Cancer statistics for African American/Black People 2022

African American/Black individuals have a disproportionate cancer burden, including the highest mortality and the lowest survival of any racial/ethnic group for most cancers. Every 3 years, the American Cancer Society estimates the number of new cancer cases and deaths for Black people in the United States and compiles the most recent data on cancer incidence (herein through 2018), mortality (through 2019), survival, screening, and risk factors using population-based data from the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2022, there will be approximately 224,080 new cancer cases and 73,680 cancer deaths among Black people in the United States. During the most recent 5-year period, Black men had a 6% higher incidence rate but 19% higher mortality than White men overall, including an approximately 2-fold higher risk of death from myeloma, stomach cancer, and prostate cancer. The overall cancer mortality disparity is narrowing between Black and White men because of a steeper drop in Black men for lung and prostate cancers. However, the decline in prostate cancer mortality in Black men slowed from 5% annually during 2010 through 2014 to 1.3% during 2015 through 2019, likely reflecting the 5% annual increase in advanced-stage diagnoses since 2012. Black women have an 8% lower incidence rate than White women but a 12% higher mortality; further, mortality rates are 2-fold higher for endometrial cancer and 41% higher for breast cancer despite similar or lower incidence rates. The wide breast cancer disparity reflects both later stage diagnosis (57% localized stage vs 67% in White women) and lower 5-year survival overall (82% vs 92%, respectively) and for every stage of disease (eg, 20% vs 30%, respectively, for distant stage). Breast cancer surpassed lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer death among Black women in 2019. Targeted interventions are needed to reduce stark cancer inequalities in the Black community.

Survival of African American and non-Hispanic white men with prostate cancer in an equal-access health care system

BACKGROUND

African American (AA) men in the general US population are more than twice as likely to die of prostate cancer (PC) compared with non-Hispanic white (NHW) men. The authors hypothesized that receiving care through the Veterans Affairs (VA) health system, an equal-access medical system, would attenuate this disparity.

METHODS

A longitudinal, centralized database of >20 million veterans was used to assemble a cohort of 60,035 men (18,201 AA men [30.3%] and 41,834 NHW men [69.7%]) who were diagnosed with PC between 2000 and 2015.

RESULTS

AA men were more likely to live in regions with a lower median income ($40,871 for AA men vs $48,125 for NHW men; P < .001) and lower high school graduation rates (83% for AA men vs 88% for NHW men; P < .001). At the time of diagnosis, AA men were younger (median age, 63.0 years vs 66.0 years; P < .001) and had a higher prostate-specific antigen level (median, 6.7 ng/mL vs 6.2 ng/mL; P < .001), but were less likely to have Gleason score 8 to 10 disease (18.8% among AA men vs 19.7% among NHW men; P < .001), a clinical T classification ≥3 (2.2% vs 2.9%; P < .001), or distant metastatic disease (2.7% vs 3.1%; P = 0.01). The 10-year PC-specific mortality rate was slightly lower for AA men (4.4% vs 5.1%; P = .005), which was confirmed in multivariable competing-risk analysis (subdistribution hazard ratio, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.78-0.93; P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

AA men diagnosed with PC in the VA health system do not appear to present with more advanced disease or experience worse outcomes compared with NHW men, in contrast to national trends, suggesting that access to care is an important determinant of racial equity.

Patient-Reported Outcomes Through 5 Years for Active Surveillance, Surgery, Brachytherapy, or External Beam Radiation With or Without Androgen Deprivation Therapy for Localized Prostate Cancer

Importance

Understanding adverse effects of contemporary treatment approaches for men with favorable-risk and unfavorable-risk localized prostate cancer could inform treatment selection.

Objective

To compare functional outcomes associated with prostate cancer treatments over 5 years after treatment.

Design, Setting, and Participants

Prospective, population-based cohort study of 1386 men with favorable-risk (clinical stage cT1 to cT2bN0M0, prostate-specific antigen [PSA] ≤20 ng/mL, and Grade Group 1-2) prostate cancer and 619 men with unfavorable-risk (clinical stage cT2cN0M0, PSA of 20-50 ng/mL, or Grade Group 3-5) prostate cancer diagnosed in 2011 through 2012, accrued from 5 Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program sites and a US prostate cancer registry, with surveys through September 2017.

Exposures

Treatment with active surveillance (n = 363), nerve-sparing prostatectomy (n = 675), external beam radiation therapy (EBRT; n = 261), or low-dose-rate brachytherapy (n = 87) for men with favorable-risk disease and treatment with prostatectomy (n = 402) or EBRT with androgen deprivation therapy (n = 217) for men with unfavorable-risk disease.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Patient-reported function, based on the 26-item Expanded Prostate Index Composite (range, 0-100), 5 years after treatment. Regression models were adjusted for baseline function and patient and tumor characteristics. Minimum clinically important difference was 10 to 12 for sexual function, 6 to 9 for urinary incontinence, 5 to 7 for urinary irritative symptoms, and 4 to 6 for bowel and hormonal function.

Results

A total of 2005 men met inclusion criteria and completed the baseline and at least 1 postbaseline survey (median [interquartile range] age, 64 [59-70] years; 1529 of 1993 participants [77%] were non-Hispanic white). For men with favorable-risk prostate cancer, nerve-sparing prostatectomy was associated with worse urinary incontinence at 5 years (adjusted mean difference, -10.9 [95% CI, -14.2 to -7.6]) and sexual function at 3 years (adjusted mean difference, -15.2 [95% CI, -18.8 to -11.5]) compared with active surveillance. Low-dose-rate brachytherapy was associated with worse urinary irritative (adjusted mean difference, -7.0 [95% CI, -10.1 to -3.9]), sexual (adjusted mean difference, -10.1 [95% CI, -14.6 to -5.7]), and bowel (adjusted mean difference, -5.0 [95% CI, -7.6 to -2.4]) function at 1 year compared with active surveillance. EBRT was associated with urinary, sexual, and bowel function changes not clinically different from active surveillance at any time point through 5 years. For men with unfavorable-risk disease, EBRT with ADT was associated with lower hormonal function at 6 months (adjusted mean difference, -5.3 [95% CI, -8.2 to -2.4]) and bowel function at 1 year (adjusted mean difference, -4.1 [95% CI, -6.3 to -1.9]), but better sexual function at 5 years (adjusted mean difference, 12.5 [95% CI, 6.2-18.7]) and incontinence at each time point through 5 years (adjusted mean difference, 23.2 [95% CI, 17.7-28.7]), than prostatectomy.

Conclusions and Relevance

In this cohort of men with localized prostate cancer, most functional differences associated with contemporary management options attenuated by 5 years. However, men undergoing prostatectomy reported clinically meaningful worse incontinence through 5 years compared with all other options, and men undergoing prostatectomy for unfavorable-risk disease reported worse sexual function at 5 years compared with men who underwent EBRT with ADT.

Cancer statistics for African Americans, 2019

In the United States, African American/black individuals bear a disproportionate share of the cancer burden, having the highest death rate and the lowest survival rate of any racial or ethnic group for most cancers. To monitor progress in reducing these inequalities, every 3 years the American Cancer Society provides the estimated number of new cancer cases and deaths for blacks in the United States and the most recent data on cancer incidence, mortality, survival, screening, and risk factors using data from the National Cancer Institute, the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, and the National Center for Health Statistics. In 2019, approximately 202,260 new cases of cancer and 73,030 cancer deaths are expected to occur among blacks in the United States. During 2006 through 2015, the overall cancer incidence rate decreased faster in black men than in white men (2.4% vs 1.7% per year), largely due to the more rapid decline in lung cancer. In contrast, the overall cancer incidence rate was stable in black women (compared with a slight increase in white women), reflecting increasing rates for cancers of the breast, uterine corpus, and pancreas juxtaposed with declining trends for cancers of the lung and colorectum. Overall cancer death rates declined faster in blacks than whites among both males (2.6% vs 1.6% per year) and females (1.5% vs 1.3% per year), largely driven by greater declines for cancers of the lung, colorectum, and prostate. Consequently, the excess risk of overall cancer death in blacks compared with whites dropped from 47% in 1990 to 19% in 2016 in men and from 19% in 1990 to 13% in 2016 in women. Moreover, the black-white cancer disparity has been nearly eliminated in men <50 years and women ≥70 years. Twenty-five years of continuous declines in the cancer death rate among black individuals translates to more than 462,000 fewer cancer deaths. Continued progress in reducing disparities will require expanding access to high-quality prevention, early detection, and treatment for all Americans.