title: Patterns of prostate cancer treatment by clinical stage and age.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study analyzed prostate cancer treatment rates by age and clinical stage and contrasted these with rates by most accurate stage.
  
  
  METHODS
  We determined surgery and radiation rates by most accurate and clinical stage by using 1996 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Treatment rates by clinical stage vs best stage differ significantly. For example, surgery rates for stages B, C, and D are 37%, 78%, and 13% by most accurate stage but 33%, 6%, and 1% by clinical stage. Treatment patterns by clinical stage vary substantially by age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Treatment patterns should be described by clinical stage rather than most accurate stage, and they vary by age.
authors.affiliation: Section of General Internal Medicine, Department of Economics, and Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, Chicago, Ill., USA. dmeltzer@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Meltzer
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Egleston
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Abdalla
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018426:SEER Program; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology