Low Other Cause Mortality Rates Reflect Good Patient Selection in Patients with Prostate Cancer Treated with Radical Prostatectomy

PURPOSE: Treatment decisions in patients with prostate cancer are affected by patient age regardless of higher life expectancy compared to the baseline population. Our aim was to quantify cancer specific and other cause mortality rates after radical prostatectomy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 8,741 patients with prostate cancer underwent radical prostatectomy between 1992 and 2009 at a European center. Ten-year other cause and cancer specific mortality rates were determined by age and comorbidities, and age and Cancer of the Prostate Risk Assessment Post-Surgical (CAPRA-S) risk groups. Competing risk regression was used for risk factor analyses including clinical and pathological variables.

RESULTS: Ten-year other cause mortality rates increased with patient age, including 4.8%, 9.8%, 13.6% and 16.5% in men younger than 60, 60 to 64, 65 to 69 and 70 years or older, respectively. Cancer specific mortality was the leading cause of death in CAPRA-S high risk cases regardless of age. On multivariate analyses age groups achieved independent predictor status for other cause mortality (ages 60 to 64 years HR 1.81, 95% CI 1.26-2.62, 65 to 69 years HR 2.48, 95% CI 1.73-3.56 and 70 years or greater HR 3.02, 95% CI 1.97-4.62) as well as Charlson comorbidity indexes 1 (HR 1.45, 95% CI 1.00-2.09) and 3 or greater (HR 3.99, 95% CI 1.57-10.1). Gleason score 3 + 4 and 4 + 3 or greater, pT3b stage, lymph node invasion and positive margin status achieved independent predictor status when the end point was cancer specific mortality. The CAPRA-S high risk constellation increased cancer specific mortality risk in multifold fashion (HR 26, 95% CI 16-56).

CONCLUSIONS: In patients with the CAPRA-S high risk constellation the rate of cancer specific mortality increased in multifold fashion and contributed to most deaths regardless of patient age. Low other cause mortality rates in all age groups showed reasonable patient selection.