Background

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) measurements are increasingly used to monitor men with localised prostate cancer (PCa), but there is little consensus about the method to use.

Objective

To apply age-specific predictions of PSA level (developed in men without cancer) to one cohort of men with clinically identified PCa and one cohort of men with PSA-detected PCa. We hypothesise that among men with clinically identified cancer, the annual increase in PSA level would be steeper than in men with PSA-detected cancer.

Design, setting, and participants

The Scandinavian Prostatic Cancer Group 4 (SPCG-4) cohort consisted of 321 men assigned to the watchful waiting arm of the SPCG-4 trial. The UK cohort consisted of 320 men with PSA-detected PCa in the Prostate Testing for Cancer and Treatment (ProtecT) study in nine UK centres between 1999 and 2007 who opted for monitoring rather than treatment. Multilevel models describing changes in PSA level were fitted to the two cohorts, and average PSA level at age 50, change in PSA level with age, and predicted PSA values were derived.

Measurements

PSA level.

Results and limitations

In the SPCG-4 cohort, mean PSA at age 50 was similar to the cancer-free cohort but with a steeper yearly increase in PSA level (16.4% vs 4.0%). In the UK cohort, mean PSA level was higher than that in the cancer-free cohort (due to a PSA biopsy threshold of 3.0 ng/ml) but with a similar yearly increase in PSA level (4.1%). Predictions were less accurate for the SPCG-4 cohort (median observed minus predicted PSA level: −2.0 ng/ml; interquartile range [IQR]: −7.6–0.7 ng/ml) than for the UK cohort (median observed minus predicted PSA level: −0.8 ng/ml; IQR: −2.1–0.1 ng/ml).

Conclusions

In PSA-detected men, yearly change in PSA was similar to that in cancer-free men, whereas in men with symptomatic PCa, the yearly change in PSA level was considerably higher. Our method needs further evaluation but has promise for refining active monitoring protocols.

Summary

Background

Cancer is associated with an increased risk of thromboembolic diseases, but data on the association between prostate cancer and thromboembolic diseases are scarce. We investigated the risk of thromboembolic disease in men with prostate cancer who were receiving endocrine treatment, curative treatment, or surveillance.

Methods

We analysed data from PCBaSe Sweden, a database based on the National Prostate Cancer Register, which covers over 96% of prostate cancer cases in Sweden. Standardised incidence ratios (SIR) of deep-venous thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism, and arterial embolism were calculated by comparing observed and expected (using the total Swedish male population) occurrences of thromboembolic disease, taking into account age, calendar-time, number of thromboembolic diseases, and time since previous thromboembolic disease.

Findings

Between Jan 1, 1997, and Dec 31, 2007, 30 642 men received primary endocrine therapy, 26 432 curative treatment, and 19 526 surveillance. 1881 developed a thromboembolic disease. For men on endocrine therapy, risks for DVT (SIR 2·48, 95% CI 2·25–2·73) and pulmonary embolism (1·95, 1·81–2·15) were increased, although this was not the case for arterial embolism (1·00, 0·82–1·20). Similar patterns were seen for men who received curative treatment (DVT: 1·73, 1·47–2·01; pulmonary embolism: 2·03, 1·79–2·30; arterial embolism: 0·95, 0·69–1·27) and men who were on surveillance (DVT: 1·27, 1·08–1·47; pulmonary embolism: 1·57, 1·38–1·78; arterial embolism: 1·08, 0·87–1·33). Increased risks for thromboembolic disease were maintained when patients were stratified by age and tumour stage.

Interpretation

All men with prostate cancer were at higher risk of thromboembolic diseases, with the highest risk for those on endocrine therapy. Our results indicate that prostate cancer itself, prostate cancer treatments, and selection mechanisms all contribute to increased risk of thromboembolic disease. Thromboembolic disease should be a concern when managing patients with prostate cancer.

Funding

Swedish Research Council, Stockholm Cancer Society, and Cancer Research UK.

Background

The benefit of radical prostatectomy in patients with early prostate cancer has been assessed in only one randomized trial. In 2005, we reported that radical prostatectomy improved prostate cancer survival compared with watchful waiting after a median of 8.2 years of follow-up. We now report results after 3 more years of follow-up.

Methods

From October 1, 1989, through February 28, 1999, 695 men with clinically localized prostate cancer were randomly assigned to radical prostatectomy (n = 347) or watchful waiting (n = 348). Follow-up was complete through December 31, 2006, with histopathologic review and blinded evaluation of causes of death. Relative risks (RRs) were estimated using the Cox proportional hazards model. Statistical tests were two-sided.

Results

During a median of 10.8 years of follow-up (range = 3 weeks to 17.2 years), 137 men in the surgery group and 156 in the watchful waiting group died (P = .09). For 47 of the 347 men (13.5%) who were randomly assigned to surgery and 68 of the 348 men (19.5%) who were not, death was due to prostate cancer. The difference in cumulative incidence of death due to prostate cancer remained stable after about 10 years of follow-up. At 12 years, 12.5% of the surgery group and 17.9% of the watchful waiting group had died of prostate cancer (difference = 5.4%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.2 to 11.1%), for a relative risk of 0.65 (95% CI = 0.45 to 0.94; P = .03). The difference in cumulative incidence of distant metastases did not increase beyond 10 years of follow-up. At 12 years, 19.3% of men in the surgery group and 26% of men in the watchful waiting group had been diagnosed with distant metastases (difference = 6.7%, 95% CI = 0.2 to 13.2%), for a relative risk of 0.65 (95% CI = 0.47 to 0.88; P = .006). Among men who underwent radical prostatectomy, those with extracapsular tumor growth had 14 times the risk of prostate cancer death as those without it (RR = 14.2, 95% CI = 3.3 to 61.8; P < .001).

Conclusion

Radical prostatectomy reduces prostate cancer mortality and risk of metastases with little or no further increase in benefit 10 or more years after surgery.