Impact of Patient Age at Treatment on Outcome Following Radical Retropubic Prostatectomy for Prostate Cancer

Age 70 +/- 5 Years and Cancer-Specific Outcomes After Treatment of Localized Prostate Cancer: A Systematic Review

A secondary analysis of 2 randomized Radiation Therapy Oncology Group trials demonstrated that age ≥70 years was a favorable prognostic factor among men treated with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT). In contrast, several series based on men undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP) suggested that older age was an unfavorable prognostic factor. Our study was initiated to determine whether these observations reflect a true but paradoxical underlying age-related treatment-dependent biological phenomenon. We conducted a systematic review (PubMed, January 1, 1999-January 30, 2023) evaluating the effect of age on cancer-specific outcomes after definitive local treatment with either RP or EBRT. Our main objective was to assess possible interactions between age (using a cutoff of 70 +/- 5 years) and treatment type, with regard to adverse cancer-specific outcomes (eg, pathology, biochemical failure, distant metastasis, or prostate cancer-specific survival). Forty-five studies were selected for inclusion in this systematic review, including 30 and 15 studies with patients treated with RP and EBRT, respectively. Among patients treated with RP, 10 (50%) of these studies suggested that older age was associated with worse outcome(s) after RP. None suggested that age was a favorable prognostic factor after RP. Among the EBRT-based studies, 8 (53%) suggested that older age was associated with better outcomes, with an additional 3 studies (21%) trending to support a better outcome. None of these studies involving EBRT suggested that older age was an adverse prognostic factor. This systematic review suggests that age using a categorical cutoff of 70 +/- 5 years may be an adverse prognostic factor for men undergoing RP but a favorable prognostic factor for men treated with EBRT. Further research is needed to validate these findings.

Antidepressant medication use and prostate cancer recurrence in men with depressive disorders

Purpose

Whether treating prostate cancer survivors with a depressive disorder with antidepressants can affect their cancer outcomes is unknown. We evaluated the association between antidepressant use and prostate cancer recurrence, in survivors with comorbid depressive disorders.

Methods

We conducted a longitudinal cohort study of 10,017 men with prostate cancer (stages I–II) diagnosed who also had a comorbid depressive disorder followed a maximum of 22 years, and examined rates of biochemical recurrence by antidepressant medication use. We conducted multivariable Cox models based on time-dependent antidepressant drug use status, and examined the risk of biochemical recurrence by cumulative duration of antidepressant use.

Results

Of these 10,017 survivors, 1842 (18%) experienced biochemical recurrence over 69,500 person-years of follow-up. The prostate cancer biochemical recurrence rate was greater with antidepressant non-use (31.3/1000 person-years) compared to antidepressant use (23.5/1000 person-years). In Cox proportional hazards multivariable adjusted models, non-use of antidepressants was associated with a 34% increased risk of biochemical recurrence compared to antidepressant use (HR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.24–1.44). Longer use of antidepressants was associated with a lower biochemical recurrence risk (P trend test < 0.001).

Conclusion

Untreated depressive disorders in prostate cancer patients may be associated with an increased risk of biochemical recurrence.

Clinicopathological characteristics of localized prostate cancer in younger men aged ≤ 50 years treated with radical prostatectomy in the PSA era: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives

With the rapid increase in younger age prostate cancer (PCa) patients, the impact of younger age on decision‐making for PCa treatment needs to be revaluated in the new era.

Materials and Methods

A systematic literature search was performed using PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science up to October 2019 to identify the eligible radical prostatectomy (RP) studies focusing on understanding the impact of age on clinicopathological features and oncological prognosis in patients with localized PCa in PSA era. Meta‐analyses were conducted using available hazard ratios (HRs) from both univariate and multivariate analyses.

Results

Twenty‐six studies including 391 068 patients with RP treatments from the PSA era were included. Of these studies, age of 50 years old (age50) is the most commonly used cut‐off age to separate the younger patient group (including either age < 50 or age ≤ 50) from the older patient group. In these studies, the incidence of younger patients varied between 2.6% and 16.6% with a median of 8.3%. Younger patients consistently showed more favorable clinicopathological features correlated with better BCR prognosis. Meta‐analyses showed a 1.38‐fold improved BCR survival of younger patients in multivariate analysis. Among the high‐risk PCa patients, younger age was independently associated with worse oncological outcomes in multivariate analyses.

Conclusion

In this study, we found younger age correlated with favorable clinicopathological characteristics and better BCR prognosis in low‐ to intermediate‐risk patients. In high‐risk group patients, younger patients often showed significantly worse oncological outcomes. Our study results suggest that age 50 could be used as a practical cut‐off age to separate younger age patients from older age PCa patients.

Survival outcomes of Asian younger men (< 55 years) undergoing radical prostatectomy: a review of prostate cancer database in a tertiary hospital in Singapore

PURPOSE

Prostate cancer largely affects older men. This study aims to investigate prostate cancer in younger men (< 55 years) to shed light on the survival outcomes of this unique subset of patients in Asian context.

METHODS

Data were obtained from the Singapore General Hospital Prostate Cancer Registry. Data on all men with clinically organ confined prostate cancer who underwent radical prostatectomy between 1998 and 2016 were obtained from the registry. Tumor characteristics, follow-up data, and cause of death were acquired.

RESULTS

A total of 1120 men underwent radical prostatectomy between 1998 and 2016. Of these, 12 were aged ≤ 44 years, 106 were aged 45-54 years, 596 were aged 55-64, 397 were aged 65-74 and 9 were aged ≥ 75. There was no difference across age groups when comparing Gleason ≤ 7 vs Gleason ≥ 8 disease, T1/2 vs T3/4 disease and the median PSA values were similar. No difference was observed in overall survival or prostate cancer specific survival among 4 age groups (≤ 44, 45-54, 55-64, 65-74) (p = 0.156 and p = 0.227 respectively). Although there was a trend of increasing rate of biochemical recurrence for older patients, it's not statistically significant (p = 0.157). Time to biochemical recurrence was similar as well (p = 0.257).

CONCLUSION

This large cohort of Asian patients who underwent radical prostatectomy did not show significant age-related differences in important parameters and outcomes.

Outcomes of men aged ≤50 years treated with radical prostatectomy: a retrospective analysis

Previous studies investigating prostate cancer (PCa) features in younger men have reported conflicting findings. This study aimed to investigate pathologic outcomes and biochemical recurrence (BCR) status in younger men who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP) for PCa. Records of 2057 patients who underwent RP at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (Seongnam, Korea) between 2006 and 2015 were reviewed; patients were divided according to age into the younger and older groups (men aged ≤50 and >50 years, respectively). Postoperative BCR status and functional outcomes and clinicopathologic features were compared between both groups. All analyses were repeated after propensity score matching. Younger men were more likely to have low-risk disease (P < 0.001), lower pathologic Gleason score (P < 0.001) and pathologic stages (P < 0.001) than older men. The pathologic Gleason score (P = 0.002) and rates of extracapsular extension (P = 0.004) were lower in younger men after propensity score matching. In multivariate analysis, age at RP was not an independent predictor of BCR-free survival after RP (P = 0.669). Moreover, at 1 year after RP, younger men with preoperative 5-item International Index of Erectile Function score ≥22 (n = 228) showed more favorable results for urinary continence (defined as nonuse of pads daily) (99.4% vs 95%, P = 0.009) and erections sufficient for vaginal intercourse (81.8% vs 55.5%, P = 0.001). Younger men had more favorable clinicopathologic features at RP than their older counterparts. Although age was not an independent predictor of BCR status outcome, younger men had better functional outcomes following RP.

Age at diagnosis and prostate cancer treatment and prognosis: a population-based cohort study

Background

Old age at prostate cancer diagnosis has been associated with poor prognosis in several studies. We aimed to investigate the association between age at diagnosis and prognosis, and if it is independent of tumor characteristics, primary treatment, year of diagnosis, mode of detection and comorbidity.

Patients and methods

We conducted a nation-wide cohort study including 121 392 Swedish men aged 55-95 years in Prostate Cancer data Base Sweden 3.0 diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1998-2012 and followed for prostate cancer death through 2014. Data were available on age, stage, grade, prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-level, mode of detection, comorbidity, educational level and primary treatment. We used Cox regression to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results

With increasing age at diagnosis, men had more comorbidity, fewer PSA-detected cancers, more advanced cancers and were less often treated with curative intent. Among men with high-risk or regionally metastatic disease, the proportion of men with unknown M stage was higher among old men versus young men. During a follow-up of 751 000 person-years, 23 649 men died of prostate cancer. In multivariable Cox-regression analyses stratified by treatment, old age at diagnosis was associated with poorer prognosis among men treated with deferred treatment (HRage 85+ versus 60-64: 7.19; 95% CI: 5.61-9.20), androgen deprivation therapy (HRage 85+ versus 60-64: 1.72; 95% CI: 1.61-1.84) or radical prostatectomy (HRage 75+ versus 60-64: 2.20; 95% CI: 1.01-4.77), but not radiotherapy (HRage 75+ versus 60-64: 1.08; 95% CI: 0.76-1.53).

Conclusion

Our findings argue against a strong inherent effect of age on risk of prostate cancer death, but indicate that in current clinical practice, old men with prostate cancer receive insufficient diagnostic workup and subsequent curative treatment.

The Prostate Clinical Outlook (PCO) Classifier Application for Predicting Biochemical Recurrences in Patients Treated by Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT)

(1) Background: Prostate cancer risk classifiers have been used for predicting surgical and radiation therapy outcomes; however, a classifier for predicting biochemical recurrence (BCR) in patients undergoing stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is not available. We attempted to develop a model that creates a risk classifier to predict BCR in patients considering SBRT. (2) Methods: We studied the outcomes of 809 patients treated with SBRT between August 2007 and November 2016. We used Cox regression analysis with time to BCR as the outcome to develop a model that calculates a prostate clinical outlook (PCO) score based on age at diagnosis, clinical-radiological staging, and a modified risk level. We then created the PCO classifier application, which uses the model we created to categorize patients into risk groups based on multiple factors. We assessed the concordance index (c-index) to determine the accuracy of the PCO classifier application and compared the results to the D’Amico and Kattan nomogram classifications. (3) Results: The calculated PCO scores ranged from 0 to 156 points. The PCO classifier application categorized patients into three risk-groups, with 5-year BCR-free survival rates of 98.3% for low risk (n = 137), 95.4% for intermediate risk (n = 570), and 86.4% for high risk (n = 102). We demonstrated the improved prognostic power of the PCO classifier application, with a c-index of 0.75 (training set) and 0.67 (validation set); the c-index of the Kattan nomogram was 0.62 and 0.63, respectively, and that of the D’Amico classifier was 0.64 and 0.64, respectively. (4) Conclusions: The PCO classifier application is a predictive tool for employing readily available clinical parameters to stratify prostate cancer patients and to predict the probability of BCR after SBRT.

Treatment trends and Medicare reimbursements for localized prostate cancer in elderly patients

INTRODUCTION

The absolute and proportional numbers of elderly patients diagnosed with localized prostate cancer (PCa) are on the rise. We examined treatment trends and reimbursement figures in localized PCa patients aged ≥80 years.

METHODS

Between 2000 and 2008, we identified 30 217 localized PCa patients aged ≥80 years in Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare-linked database. Alternative treatment modalities consisted of conservative management (CM), radiation therapy (RT), radical prostatectomy (RP), and primary androgen-deprivation therapy (PADT). For all four modalities, utilization and reimbursements were examined.

RESULTS

PADT was the most frequently used treatment modality between 2000 and 2005. CM became the dominant treatment modality from 2006-2008. RP rates were marginal. RT ranked third, and its annual rate increased from 20.77% in 2000 to 29.13% in 2008. Median individual reimbursement of RT was highest and ranged from $29 343 in 2000 to $31 090 in 2008, followed by RP (from $20 560 in 2000 to $19 580 in 2008), PADT (from $18 901 in 2000 to $8000 in 2008), and CM (from $1824 in 2000 to $1938 in 2008). RT contributed to most of the cumulative annual reimbursements from 2003 (49.24%) to 2008 (72.97%). PADT ranked first from 2000 (54.56%) to 2002 (50.49%), but decreased by 19.40% in 2008. CM's contribution increased from 4.42% in 2000 to 6.96% in 2008. RP's share of reimbursements was stable during the study period.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results, focusing on localized PCa treatment in patients aged ≥80 years, showed an important increase in rates, median cost, and proportion of cumulative cost related to RT.

Outcome of Robotic Radical Prostatectomy in Men Over 74

INTRODUCTION

We set out to evaluate outcomes in patients over 74 after robotic radical prostatectomy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Six hundred forty-seven patients over 74 (≥75) were analyzed for preoperative factors (body mass index [BMI], American Society of Anestesiologists classification [ASA], prostate-specific antigen [PSA], International prostate symptome score [IPSS], International index of erectile function [IIEF]), operative and perioperative characteristics (technique, erythrocyte conc., complications), and histopathological results. After 12 months, following items were assessed: PSA, frequency of urine loss, number of pads used (including safety), incontinence at night, and potency as quantified by IIEF-5.

RESULTS

Mean age in the group <75 was 64.8 years (range 46-74 years) and in the group ≥75 76.9 years (75-88). No statistically significant differences could be detected in terms of BMI, ASA score, or preoperative PSA, respectively. IPSS and IIEF were significantly worse in the group ≥75. Major complications (>Clavien-Dindo III) were found in 1.6% vs. 1.3% (≥75) of cases. Minor complications were encountered in 22.8% vs. 26.3% (≥75). There was a remarkably high percentage of locally advanced disease (73.3% vs. 71.0%) in both groups. Patients ≥75 showed a tendency toward more aggressive cancer and more frequent nodal involvement; we found a higher percentage of R1-resections (19.5% vs. 30.4%, p < 0.05) and PSA relapse after 1 year (12.3% vs. 22.8%, p < 0.05). Twelve months pad-free continence rate (69.9% vs. 63.2%) showed no statistically significant difference between both groups as did the preservation rate of erectile function.

CONCLUSION

We could show that robotic prostatectomy can be carried out safely with good functional and histopathological results in patients ≥75. It is therefore questionable if elderly patients can be precluded from curative radical treatment solely because of their age.

Radical prostatectomy in patients aged 75 years or older: review of the literature

Given the demographic trends toward a considerably longer life expectancy, the percentage of elderly patients with prostate cancer will increase further in the upcoming decades. Therefore, the question arises, should patients ≥75 years old be offered radical prostatectomy and under which circumstances? For treatment decision-making, life expectancy is more important than biological age. As a result, a patient's health and mental status has to be determined and radical treatment should only be offered to those who are fit. As perioperative morbidity and mortality in these patients is increased relative to younger patients, patient selection according to comorbidities is a key issue that needs to be addressed. It is known from the literature that elderly men show notably worse tumor characteristics, leading to worse oncologic outcomes after treatment. Moreover, elderly patients also demonstrate worse postoperative recovery of continence and erectile function. As the absolute rates of both oncological and functional outcomes are still very reasonable in patients ≥75 years, a radical prostatectomy can be offered to highly selected and healthy elderly patients. Nevertheless, patients clearly need to be informed about the worse outcomes and higher perioperative risks compared to younger patients.

Beyond D'Amico risk classes for predicting recurrence after external beam radiotherapy for prostate cancer: the Candiolo classifier

Background

The aim of this work is to develop an algorithm to predict recurrence in prostate cancer patients treated with radical radiotherapy, getting up to a prognostic power higher than traditional D’Amico risk classification.

Methods

Two thousand four hundred ninety-three men belonging to the EUREKA-2 retrospective multi-centric database on prostate cancer and treated with external-beam radiotherapy as primary treatment comprised the study population. A Cox regression time to PSA failure analysis was performed in univariate and multivariate settings, evaluating the predictive ability of age, pre-treatment PSA, clinical-radiological staging, Gleason score and percentage of positive cores at biopsy (%PC). The accuracy of this model was checked with bootstrapping statistics. Subgroups for all the variables’ combinations were combined to classify patients into five different “Candiolo” risk-classes for biochemical Progression Free Survival (bPFS); thereafter, they were also applied to clinical PFS (cPFS), systemic PFS (sPFS) and Prostate Cancer Specific Survival (PCSS), and compared to D’Amico risk grouping performances.

Results

The Candiolo classifier splits patients in 5 risk-groups with the following 10-years bPFS, cPFS, sPFS and PCSS: for very-low-risk 90 %, 94 %, 100 % and 100 %; for low-risk 74 %, 88 %, 94 % and 98 %; for intermediate-risk 60 %, 82 %, 91 % and 92 %; for high-risk 43 %, 55 %, 80 % and 89 % and for very-high-risk 14 %, 38 %, 56 % and 70 %. Our classifier outperforms D’Amico risk classes for all the end-points evaluated, with concordance indexes of 71.5 %, 75.5 %, 80 % and 80.5 % versus 63 %, 65.5 %, 69.5 % and 69 %, respectively.

Conclusions

Our classification tool, combining five clinical and easily available parameters, seems to better stratify patients in predicting prostate cancer recurrence after radiotherapy compared to the traditional D’Amico risk classes.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13014-016-0599-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Tumor Characteristics and Oncologic Outcome after Radical Prostatectomy in Men 75 Years Old or Older

PURPOSE

As life expectancy increases, oncologic outcome in elderly patients 75 years old or older is a salient topic requiring further investigation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We analyzed the records of 13,997 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy from 2006 to 2013. Known prognosticators were compared according to age at radical prostatectomy in 13,732 patients younger than 75 years vs 265 patients 75 years old or older. Univariate and multivariate Cox regressions were used to estimate the impact of age on biochemical recurrence-free, metastasis-free, cancer specific and overall survival.

RESULTS

Median followup was 47.3 months. Compared to patients younger than 75 years those 75 years old or older had a higher pathological Gleason score (p <0.001) and were more likely to harbor a nonorgan confined tumor (p <0.001), have a positive surgical margin (p = 0.004) and positive lymph nodes (p = 0.028), and receive salvage androgen deprivation therapy (p = 0.002). Five-year biochemical recurrence-free, metastasis-free, cancer specific and overall survival rates were 64.2%, 84.7%, 98.4% and 91.3% in patients 75 years old or older, and 76.9%, 96.2%, 99.0% and 96.2%, respectively, in patients younger than 75 years. On univariate and multivariate analysis age 75 years or greater was associated with worse biochemical recurrence-free and metastasis-free survival. Patients 75 years old or older were more likely to die of other causes than cancer. Nevertheless, noncancer related mortality was low.

CONCLUSIONS

Older patients who underwent radical prostatectomy had more advanced disease. Age itself is an independent predictor of worse biochemical recurrence-free and metastasis-free survival. Healthy and highly selected patients 75 years old or older in our sample showed good long-term overall survival. Therefore, older age in well selected men should not be a contraindication to radical prostatectomy, especially in patients harboring high risk disease.

Perioperative and continence outcomes of robotic radical prostatectomy in elderly Indian men (≥70 years): A sub-group analysis

INTRODUCTION

Many healthy elderly Indian men seek surgical treatment for localized prostate cancer. Quite often, radical surgery is not offered to the patients over 70 years of age due to the perception of increased side-effects and complications. We have previously reported our results of robotic radical prostatectomy in a study comprising 150 Indian patients, where almost a quarter of patients were elderly. This subgroup analysis was therefore focused on evaluating perioperative and continence outcomes in elderly men (≥70 years) with localized prostate cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Between April 2010 and August 2013, 153 men had robot-assisted radical prostatectomy performed by two surgeons. Of the 150 men analyzed, 39 (26%) were aged ≥70 years. All patients underwent robotic prostatectomy using a 4 arm da Vinci surgical system. Pre-operative, intraoperative and post-operative parameters were studied. Check cystogram was performed in all patients prior to catheter removal. Complications were categorized using the Clavien-Dindo classification system. Continence was defined as use of "no pad" or security liner only. All data were recorded prospectively and analyzed using SPSS version 20.

RESULTS

There were no significant intraoperative or perioperative complications in this group. Median blood loss during surgery was 150 mL. None of the patient required blood transfusion. There were two minor complications (5.1%) within the first 30 days of surgery: Minimal anastomotic site leak (one patient) requiring replacement and prolongation of Foley's drainage by 1 week and ileus (one patient). No patient had any cardiopulmonary or vascular complications in the post-operative period. The median duration of hospital stay was 3 days. The median duration of catheterization was 7 days. No patient had problem of bladder neck stenosis in the follow-up period. At 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year of follow-up, 66.7% (n = 26), 74.3% (n = 29), 87.9% (n = 34) and 94.8% (n = 37), respectively, were continent.

CONCLUSIONS

Robotic surgery is safe and feasible in a select group of elderly patients. It has acceptable and minimal perioperative complications along with good continence outcome.

The older the better: The characteristic of localized prostate cancer in Chinese men

Objective

To assess the clinicopathological features and overall survival between two groups of Chinese patients older or younger than 70 years after retropubic radical prostatectomy.

Methods

From January 2001 to February 2010, 390 patients receive dretropubic radical prostatectomy. After excluding 89 patients with adjuvant or neoadjuvant hormonal therapy or radiotherapy, a total of 301 patients were included in this study. We arbitrarily divided these patients into younger age group (<70 years, 140 cases, 46.5%) and older age group (≥70 years, 161 cases, 53.5%). The differences in serum prostate specific antigen (PSA), Gleason score, clinical tumor stage, and biochemical-free survival were analyzed between the two groups.

Results

There were not significant differences between the two groups in high Gleason score rate and clinical tumor stage. However, older patients had significantly lower biochemical recurrence rate than those of younger patients, and had significantly higher PSA levels. Multivariate analysis showed that older age, PSA level and clinical tumor stage were significantly associated with biochemical recurrence free survival.

Conclusion

In Chinese men, older age (≥70 years) is associated with better outcome. If the physical condition permits, older age alone should not exclude patients from radical prostatectomy.

High-throughput transcriptomic analysis nominates proteasomal genes as age-specific biomarkers and therapeutic targets in prostate cancer

BACKGROUND

Although prostate cancer (PCa) is hypothesized to differ in nature between younger versus older patients, the underlying molecular distinctions are poorly understood. We hypothesized that high-throughput transcriptomic analysis would elucidate biological differences in PCas arising in younger versus older men, and would nominate potential age-specific biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

METHODS

The high-density Affymetrix GeneChip platform, encompassing >1 million genomic loci, was utilized to assess gene expression in 1090 radical prostatectomy samples from patients with long-term follow-up. We identified genes associated with metastatic progression by 10 years post-treatment in younger (age<65) versus older (age⩾65) patients, and ranked these genes by their prognostic value. We performed Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) to nominate biological concepts that demonstrated age-specific effects, and validated a target by treating with a clinically available drug in three PCa cell lines derived from younger men.

RESULTS

Over 80% of the top 1000 prognostic genes in younger and older men were specific to that age group. GSEA nominated the proteasome pathway as the most differentially prognostic in younger versus older patients. High expression of proteasomal genes conferred worse prognosis in younger but not older men on univariate and multivariate analysis. Bortezomib, a Food and Drug Administration approved proteasome inhibitor, decreased proliferation in three PCa cell lines derived from younger patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data show significant global differences in prognostic genes between older versus younger men. We nominate proteasomeal gene expression as an age-specific biomarker and potential therapeutic target specifically in younger men. Limitations of our study include clinical differences between cohorts, and increased comorbidities and lower survival in older patients. These intriguing findings suggest that current models of PCa biology do not adequately represent genetic heterogeneity of PCa related to age, and future clinical trials would benefit from stratification based on age.

Prostate Cancer in the Elderly Patient

Treatment for prostate cancer (PCa) has evolved significantly over the last decade. PCa is the most prevalent non-skin cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in men, and it has an increased incidence and prevalence in older men. As a result, physicians and patients are faced with the challenge of identifying optimal treatment strategies for localized, biochemical recurrent, and advanced PCa in the older population. When older patients are appropriately selected, treatment for PCa results in survival benefits and toxicity profiles similar to those experienced in younger patients. However, underlying health status and age-related changes can have an impact on tolerance of hormonal therapy and chemotherapy in men with advanced disease. Therefore, the heterogeneity of the elderly population necessitates a multidimensional assessment to maximize the benefit of medical and/or surgical options. Providing clinicians with the requisite health status data on which to base treatment decisions would help ensure that older patients with PCa receive optimal therapy if it will benefit them and/or active surveillance or best supportive care if it will not. We provide a review of the existing evidence to date on the management of PCa in the older population.

Challenges of managing elderly men with prostate cancer

The incidence of prostate cancer increases with age. Current evidence suggests that prostate cancer is under treated in patients aged ≥70 years, despite evidence of efficacy and acceptable toxicity. Radical cystectomy and definitive radiotherapy are often denied owing to fears of post-operative complications and radiotherapy-associated gastrointestinal and genitourinary toxicity. However, modern radical prostatectomy techniques provide excellent clinical outcomes with low perioperative morbidity. Moreover, volume-restricted intensity-modulated radiation therapy is a significant improvement over previous 2D conformal radiotherapy with similar efficacy and lower toxicity. Androgen-deprivation therapy is also under-prescribed among the elderly, owing to concerns of increases in cardiac deaths and osteoporosis acceleration. However, prospective trials have not identified any increase in cardiovascular mortality among elderly men receiving androgen-deprivation therapy compared to age-matched controls. Most patients on androgen deprivation eventually progress to a castration-resistant state. At this stage, the disease still responds to newer agents that target the androgen pathway and to chemotherapy. Among the elderly, chemotherapy is under-prescribed even though it has been demonstrated to be palliative and improve survival. We describe the trends in prostate cancer management in the elderly and the importance of assessing comorbidity status, tumour characteristics, and health status, including a complete geriatric evaluation, before making treatment recommendations.

The role of treatment modality on the utility of predictive tissue biomarkers in clinical prostate cancer: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Tissue biomarkers could pivotally improve clinical outcome prediction following prostate cancer therapy. Clinically, prostate cancer is managed by diverse treatment modalities whose individual influence on a biomarker's predictive ability is not well understood and poorly investigated in the literature.

OBJECTIVE

We conducted a systematic review to assess the predictive value of biomarkers in different treatment contexts in prostate cancer.

STUDY METHODOLOGY

A literature search was performed using the MeSH headings "prostate neoplasms" and "biological markers". Rigorous selection criteria identified studies correlating expression with clinical outcomes from primary androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), radical prostatectomy and radiotherapy (± neoadjuvant ADT).

STUDY RESULTS

Of 10,668 studies identified, 481 papers matched initial inclusion criteria. Following rescreening, 384 studies identified 236 individual tissue biomarkers, of which 29 were predictive on multivariate analysis in at least 2 independent cohorts. The majority were only tested in surgical cohorts. Only 8 predictive biomarkers were tested across all 3 treatments with Ki67 identified as universal predictive marker. p16 showed potential for treatment stratification between surgery and radiotherapy but needs further validation in independent studies.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite years of research, very few tissue biomarkers retain predictive value in independent validation across therapy context. Currently, none have conclusive ability to help treatment selection. Future biomarker research should consider the therapy context and use uniform methodology and evaluation criteria.

[Importance of radical prostatectomy for patients older than 70 years]

Surgical treatment of prostate cancer (PCa) in patients older than 70 years is controversially discussed. Although the prevalence and presumably also the aggressiveness of PCa increase with age, a survival advantage by radical prostatectomy (RPx) is questionable. The current review will discuss the oncological outcome of RPx in the elderly. Moreover, the pros and cons of different surgical approaches will be evaluated.

Radical prostatectomy in Austria from 1992 to 2009: an updated nationwide analysis of 33,580 cases

PURPOSE

We analyzed the demographics and outcome of radical prostatectomy in Austria in a nationwide series.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We analyzed the records of all 33,580 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy at a public hospital, including 95% of all surgical procedures, in Austria between 1992 and 2009. Patient demographics, perioperative mortality, interventions for anastomotic strictures and urinary incontinence, and overall survival were determined. Data were provided by the Austrian Health Institute.

RESULTS

The annual number of radical prostatectomies increased 688% from 396 in 1992 to 3,123 in 2007 and gradually decreased to 2,612 in 2009. Mean ± SD patient age at surgery decreased slightly from 64.4 ± 6.3 years in 1992 to 62.0 ± 6.7 years in 2003. Age has remained at that level since then. Endourological intervention for anastomotic stricture and urinary incontinence was done in 7.5% and 2.8% of cases, respectively. The risk of each intervention increased with patient age and decreased in patients treated within the last 10 years compared to those treated before 2000. The 30-day mortality rate was 0.1%, which increased threefold from the youngest to the oldest age group. Ten-year overall survival decreased from 93% in patients 45 to 49 years old to 63% in those 70 years old or older at surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

This nationwide analysis of a country that has had a public, equal access health care system for decades describes some current radical prostatectomy trends. Since 2007, the absolute number of radical prostatectomies has decreased. Data on morbidity, perioperative mortality and overall survival raise caution about performing radical prostatectomy in elderly men, eg those 70 years old or older.

Young age under 60 years is not a contraindication to treatment with definitive dose escalated radiotherapy for prostate cancer

BACKGROUND

It is widely believed that younger prostate cancer patients are at greater risk of recurrence following radiotherapy (RT).

METHODS

From 1992 to 2007, 2168 (395 age ≤ 60) men received conformal RT alone for prostate cancer at our institution (median dose=76 Gy, range: 72-80). Multivariable analysis (MVA) was used to identify significant predictors for BF and PCSM. Cumulative incidence was estimated using the competing risk method (Fine and Gray) for BF (Phoenix definition) and PCSM to account for the competing risk of death.

RESULTS

With a median follow-up of 72.2 months (range: 24.0-205.1), 8-year BF was 27.1% for age ≤ 60 vs. 23.7% for age >60 (p=0.29). Eight-year PCSM was 3.0% for age ≤ 60 vs. 2.0% for age >60 (p=0.52). MVA for BF identified initial PSA [adjusted HR=1.7 (PSA 10-20), 2.6 (PSA >20), p<0.01], Gleason score [adjusted HR=2.1 (G7), 1.9 (G8-10), p<0.01], T-stage [adjusted HR=1.7 (T2b-c), 2.6 (T3-4), p<0.01], and initial androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) [adjusted HR=0.38 (ADT >12 months), p<0.01] as significant, but not age or ADT <12 months. MVA for PCSM identified Gleason score [adjusted HR=3.0 (G8-10), p=0.01] and T-stage [adjusted HR=8.7 (T3-4), p<0.01] as significant, but not age, PSA, or ADT.

CONCLUSION

This is the largest, most mature study of younger men treated with RT for prostate cancer that confirms young age is not prognostic for BF.

Younger patients have poorer biochemical outcome after radical prostatectomy in high-risk prostate cancer

The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic significance of patient age with respect to tumour aggressiveness in men who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP) for prostate cancer. In this study, we reviewed the records of 743 patients who received RP without neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy at our institution and were followed up for >2 years postoperatively. For our analyses, the patients were divided into two groups according to age: younger (<60 years) and older (≥60 years). Through uni- and multivariate analyses, associations of various clinicopathological parameters, including biochemical recurrence-free survival, with patient age, were evaluated among all patients, and the patients were stratified according to their D'Amico risk classification. Among all subjects, younger (n=126) and older (n=617) patients showed no significant differences regarding pathological parameters and biochemical recurrence-free survival (P=0.288). For the high-risk group (n=206), younger patients had a lower rate of biochemical recurrence-free survival following surgery than older patients (P=0.017), despite the fact that no significant differences were observed regarding various known prognostic parameters between the two age groups. In addition, multivariate analysis revealed that age was an independent predictor of biochemical recurrence-free survival among the high-risk group (P=0.003). Our results showed that relatively younger patients have a comparable biochemical outcome compared with their older counterparts following RP performed for prostate cancer. However, among patients with high-risk disease, younger patients have a worse biochemical outcome following RP compared with older patients.

Individualized decision-making for older men with prostate cancer: balancing cancer control with treatment consequences across the clinical spectrum

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most prevalent non-skin cancer among men and is the second leading cause of cancer death in men. PCa has an increased incidence and prevalence in older men. Age-associated incidence is on the rise due to increased screening in the older population. This has led to a sharp rise in the detection of early stage PCa. Given the indolent nature of many prostatic malignancies, a large proportion of older men with PCa will ultimately die from other causes. As a result, physicians and patients are faced with the challenge of identifying optimal treatment strategies for localized PCa, biochemically recurrent PCa and later-stage PCa. Age-related changes can impact tolerance of hormonal therapy and chemotherapy in men with metastatic disease and shift the risk-benefit ratio of these treatments. Tools such as the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) can help estimate remaining life expectancy and can help predict treatment-related morbidity and mortality in older men. Application of CGA in older men with PCa is important to help individualize and optimize treatment strategies. Research that integrates multidisciplinary and multidimensional assessment of PCa and the patient's overall health status is needed.

Long-term risk of clinical progression after biochemical recurrence following radical prostatectomy: the impact of time from surgery to recurrence

BACKGROUND

The natural history of biochemical recurrence (BCR) after radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) is variable and does not always translate into systemic progression or prostate cancer (PCa) death.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate long-term clinical outcomes of patients with BCR and to determine predictors of disease progression and mortality in these men.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

We reviewed our institutional registry of 14 632 patients who underwent RRP between 1990 and 2006 to identify 2426 men with BCR (prostate-specific antigen [PSA] levels ≥ 0.4 ng/ml) who did not receive neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy. Median follow-up was 11.5 yr after RRP and 6.6 yr after BCR.

INTERVENTION

RRP.

MEASUREMENTS

Patients were grouped into quartiles according to time from RRP to BCR. Survival after BCR was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to analyze clinicopathologic variables associated with systemic progression and death from PCa.

RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS

Median systemic progression-free survival (PFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) had not been reached after 15 yr of follow-up after BCR. Cancer-specific mortality 10 yr after BCR was 9.9%, 9.3%, 7.8%, and 4.7% for patients who experienced BCR <1.2 yr, 1.2-3.1 yr, 3.1-5.9 yr, and >5.9 yr after RRP, respectively (p=0.10). On multivariate analysis, time from RRP to BCR was not significantly associated with the risk of systemic progression (p=0.50) or cancer-specific mortality (p=0.81). Older patient age, increased pathologic Gleason score, advanced tumor stage, and rapid PSA doubling time (DT) predicted systemic progression and death from PCa. Limitations included retrospective design, varied utilization of salvage therapies, and the inclusion of few patients with positive lymph nodes.

CONCLUSIONS

Only a minority of men experience systemic progression and death from PCa following BCR. The decision to institute secondary therapies must balance the risk of disease progression with the cost and morbidity of treatment, independent of time from RRP to BCR.

Is there an optimal management for localized prostate cancer?

Widespread screening with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) has led to a significant increase in the detection of early stage, clinically localized prostate cancer (CaP). Various treatment options for localized CaP are discussed in this review article including active surveillance, radical prostatectomy, radiation therapy, and cryotherapy. The paucity of high-level evidence adds a considerable amount of controversy when choosing the "optimal" intervention, for both the treating physician and the patient. The long time course of CaP intervention outcomes, combined with continuing modifications in treatments, further complicate the matter. Lacking randomized trials that compare treatment options, this review article attempts to summarize the different treatment options and associated side-effects, including effects on health-related quality of life, from current published literature.

Prostate cancer in the elderly

Prostate cancer is the most frequent malignancy in men and predominantly in elderly men. The issue of prostate cancer is likely to assume greater importance with progressive aging of the population. With frequent use of PSA testing most patients were diagnosed with localized cancer even in senior adults. Cancer-specific mortality is low in elderly men with prostate cancer and is dependent on the aggressiveness of the tumor. Currently, no established guidelines for the management of prostate cancer in the elderly exist, and treatment of senior adults with localized cancer is not optimal. While elderly men with indolent disease will not benefit from curative treatment, some patients with aggressive cancers will progress if not adequately treated. Comorbidity is the main predictor of life expectancy in the elderly. In everyday clinical practice, treatment decisions are much more influenced by age than by comorbidity. Curative treatment is an effective treatment option for selected elderly with localized prostate cancer. Conversely, most elderly men with prostate cancer received hormonal therapy, although the benefit of hormonal therapy in localized cancer is not clear and is associated with severe toxicities in some patients. In conclusion, there is a need for more risk stratified approaches for the management of prostate cancer in the elderly to avoid unnecessary intervention in men who unlikely benefit from such intervention, and allow treatment in those who might benefit from it.

[Characteristics of prostate cancer in men less than 50-year-old]

OBJECTIVE

To report the characteristics of prostate cancer (PCa) in men less than 50-year-old and the results of different treatments of PCa in this population.

METHOD

A bibliographic research was performed using Pubmed database. The keywords that we used were: prostate cancer, age, young, radical prostatectomy, brachytherapy, radiotherapy, active surveillance. The studies which included a significant number of patients were selected. A total of 38 articles were used as bibliographic references.

RESULTS

PCa in young men does not seem to have different characteristics than in older men. Nevertheless, young men seem to have a lower risk of severe urinary and sexual sequelae, particularly following radical prostatectomy.

CONCLUSIONS

There is no recommendation regarding management of PCa in men less than 50-year-old. In case of localized cancer, two options may be considered. First option consists in decreasing the urinary and sexual complications of radical prostatectomy. A minimally-invasive treatment, such as brachytherapy or even active surveillance, may reach this objective. Second option consists in being more aggressive. To propose a radical prostatectomy offers to the patient the possibility of salvage radiation therapy in case of locally-advanced tumor or local recurrence.

Correlations between age, Charlson score and outcome in clinical unilateral T3a prostate cancer

According to the European Association of Urology (EAU) guidelines, a life expectancy of > 10 years is considered an important factor in the treatment of prostate cancer. The Charlson score is used to predict mortality based on comorbidities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between age, Charlson score and outcome in patients with cT3a prostate cancer. Between 1987 and 2004, 200 patients, who were with clinical T3a prostate cancer and who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP), were previously detected by digital rectal examination (DRE). Patients were categorized into two age groups (< 65 and >or= 65 years old). Patients were also divided into two groups according to Charlson score ( = 0 and >or= 1). Both age and Charlson score were analyzed regarding their predictive power of patients' outcomes. The mean follow-up period was 70.6 months, and the mean age of patients was 63.3 years. In all, 106 patients were < 65 years old and 94 patients were >or= 65 years old. Age was a significant predictor of overall survival (OS). A Charlson score of 0 was found in 110 patients, and of >or= 1 in 90 patients. Charlson score was not a significant predictor of biochemical progression-free survival (BPFS), clinical progression-free survival (CPFS) or OS. Cox multivariate analysis showed that margin status was a significant independent factor in BPFS, and cancer volume was a significant independent factor in CPFS. Charlson score does not influence the outcome in patients with clinical locally advanced prostate cancer. Age may influence OS. RP can be performed in motivated healthy older patients. However, the patients need to be counseled regarding possible surgery-related side effects, such as urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction, which are age- and comorbidity-dependent.

Impact of patient age on biochemical recurrence rates following radical prostatectomy

PURPOSE

Increased age has been suggested to predict worse clinical outcomes in patients with prostate cancer. An explanation that was proposed for this observation is that it is due to inherent differences in the biological properties of prostate cancer in older men. Stage migration, prostate specific antigen and prostate biopsy pathology are variables that may confound the interpretation of age as an independent prognosticator of outcomes following radical prostatectomy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Matched pairs analysis was performed comparing the 3 age cohorts 46 to 55, 56 to 65 and older than 65 years to a cohort of 435 patients who were 45 years or younger based on propensity scores calculated with all known preoperative variables. Postoperative clinical and pathological characteristics were compared among the 4 matched age cohorts. A Cox hazards model was used to compare time to prostate specific antigen recurrence across the different age cohorts and the actuarial risk of recurrence was calculated using Kaplan-Meier and log rank survivor analyses.

RESULTS

Younger patients showed lower grade disease (p <0.001), and lower rates of positive surgical margin rates (p = 0.035) and extraprostatic extension (p <0.001) but they did not have higher rates of lymph node involvement (p = 0.85) or seminal vesicle invasion (p = 0.56). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed no significant differences in biochemical recurrence across the age cohorts (log rank 0.38). On multivariate analysis prostatectomy Gleason score, pathological stage, positive surgical margins (each p <0.001) and preoperative prostate specific antigen (p = 0.04) were independently predictive of biochemical recurrence.

CONCLUSIONS

We report that increased age is not associated with worse biochemical outcomes following radical prostatectomy and it should not be considered an independent prognosticator for disease recurrence. Rather, age is a surrogate for known predictors of biochemical recurrence following surgery.

Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy in Men Older than 70 Years of Age with Localized Prostate Cancer: Comparison of Morbidity, Reconvalescence, and Short-Term Clinical Outcomes between Younger and Older Men

OBJECTIVES

To analyze the safety and efficacy of extraperitoneal laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (eL-RPE) in elderly versus younger men with localized prostate cancer.

METHODS

Patients undergoing eL-RPE were retrospectively subdivided into group eL-RPE1 (72 men aged 71 yr and older) and group eL-RPE2 (132 men aged 59 yr and younger). Group eL-RPE1 was compared with a group of 70 contemporary, comparable patients aged 71 yr and older undergoing open retropubic radical prostatectomy (group OPEN-RPE).

RESULTS

Compared with group eL-RPE2, patients of group eL-RPE1 had a higher pathologic stage (45% vs. 32% stage pT3 or greater, p<0.001) and higher Gleason score (median 7 vs. 6, p<0.001). Prostate-specific antigen recurrence was significantly worse compared with age-matched controls for younger patients with high-stage or high-grade lesions (p<0.001). Importantly operative time, analgesic requirements, hospital stay, convalescence, and complication rates were comparable. Urinary continence rate was significantly better in group eL-RPE2 at 6 mo (67% vs. 91%, respectively, p<0.001). Group eL-RPE1 and group OPEN-RPE patients had statistically similar pathologic stage and Gleason score (each p>0.05), similar operative time (p=0.12), but less blood loss (p<0.001), shorter hospital stay (p<0.001), and more rapid convalescence (p<0.001) occurred in eL-RPE1.

CONCLUSIONS

eL-RPE is feasible and efficacious even in elderly patients with unfavorable, large-volume disease. eL-RPE offers the advantages of decreased blood loss, shorter hospital stay, and more rapid recovery over OPEN-RPE. However, the elderly patient must be informed preoperatively about the observed higher incontinence rate.

Radical Prostatectomy in Austria: A Nationwide Analysis of 16,524 Cases

OBJECTIVES

To analyse demographics and outcome of radical prostatectomy (RPE) in Austria in a nationwide series.

METHODS

All patients (n=16,524) who underwent RPE in public hospitals (covering 95% of all surgical procedures) in Austria between 1992 and 2003 were analysed. Patient demographics, interventions for anastomotic strictures/urinary incontinence/inguinal hernias, perioperative mortality, and overall survival (OS) were determined. Data were provided by the Austrian Health Institute (OBIG). For decades Austria has had a public and equal access health system with compulsory insurance coverage.

RESULTS

The annual number of RPEs increased from 396 in 1992 to 2640 (+666%) in 2003; the mean age at surgery declined from 64+/-6.3 yr (1992) to 62.0+/-6.7 yr (2003). An endourologic intervention for anastomotic strictures was performed in 8.5% (45-49 yr: 5.8%; 70-74 yr: 10.8%). An artificial urinary sphincter was implanted in 1.6% with a 5-fold increase from the youngest (0.5%; 45-49 yr) to 2.5% in those aged 70-74 yr. Overall, 6.4% of men underwent an inguinal herniotomy after RPE. The 30-d mortality rate was 0.12%. The 5-yr OS declined from 95% in those aged 50-59 yr to 89.8% in those aged 60-69 yr to 82% in the oldest age group (70-79 yr).

CONCLUSIONS

This nationwide analysis describes the current standard of RPE in Austria. The perioperative mortality was low, the risk of total incontinence acceptable, and the OS indistinguishable to the life expectancy of the age-matched male population in Austria.