Mortality rates from metastatic prostate cancer (mPCa) are declining, researchers concluded in a poster presentation at the 2017 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in Orlando, Florida.
The trend may be due to the new and improved treatment options for advanced PCa that have come along in recent years, although lead time introduced by increased use of PSA testing likely is contributing, said lead investigator Thomas Helgstrand, MD, of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.
Using the Danish Prostate Cancer Registry, Dr Helgstrand and colleagues identified 6874 men diagnosed with de novo metastatic PCa from 1995 to 2011 and stratified them into 3 groups according to the period during which the men were diagnosed: 1995–2000, 2001–2005, and 2006–2011. The PCa-specific mortality rate decreased from 72.8% in 1995–2000 to 63.3% in 2001–2005 and 55.8% in 1995–2011. Other-cause mortality during these periods increased from 11.4% to 15.2% and 17.1%, respectively, the investigators reported.
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In addition, results showed that the age at diagnosis significantly decreased by 1 year and mean PSA level at diagnosis decreased significant from 276 to 142 ng/mL.
Compared with patients diagnosed with mPCa in 1995–2000, those diagnosed in 2001–2005 and 2006–2011 had a significant 31% and 47% lower risk of PCa-specific mortality, respectively, in multivariate analysis, according to the researchers.
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Reference
1. Helgstrand JT, Klemann N, Toft BG, et al. Survival trends in patients diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer – a nationwide analysis. Data presented in poster format the 2017 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in Orlando, Florida. Poster Session A Board #F25. Abstract 171.
