title: Analysis of competing risk parameters in irradiated prostate cancer patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Retrospective competing risk analysis of prognostic factors in definitive-irradiated prostate cancer patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data of 652 patients were analyzed according to three age subgroups (< 65, 65 < or = 75, > 75 years; Table 1). Pre-RT PSA values (median 13.4 ng/ml) were available for 340 patients. Adjuvant hormone therapy (n = 261) consisted either of orchiectomy (n = 151) or LHRH agonist with/without antiandrogen therapy or, in the early years, diethylstilbestrol. Neoadjuvant hormone therapy (n = 31) using LHRH agonists was given 6 months before and during radiotherapy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Biochemical failure was observed in 69/340 patients, 5 years after biochemical failure, 64.9% of them also had failed clinically. The cumulative incidence of local failure (LF) and distant metastases (DM) was 9.4% and 37.2%, respectively; LF and DM at the same time were seen in 18.2%. On multivariate analysis (Tables 2 and 3), advanced stage (relative risk [RR] 4.54), pre-RT PSA > 20 ng/ml (RR 2.79) and poorly differentiated tumors (RR 2.96) were significant predictors of biochemical failure. Advanced stage increased the risk of LF (RR 2.18), DM (RR 3.66), and prostate cancer death (PCD; RR 4.30). Hormone therapy decreased the risk of biochemical failure (RR 0.67), DM (RR 0.59), and PCD (RR 0.60) without reaching statistical significance. Median follow-up was 7.6 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Risk of biochemical failure was predicted by pre-RT PSA, stage, and grade; in patients with biochemical failure, the cumulative incidence of death from intercurrent diseases and PCD was 25.0% and 29.2% after 5 years, respectively. The risk of DM and PCD was predicted by stage and grade. Higher age (> 75 years) decreased the relative risk of LF, DM, and PCD significantly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiotherapy, University Medical School of Graz, Austria. ramona.mayer@uni-graz.at
authors.forename: Ramona
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pummer
authors.forename: Franz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Quehenberger
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.forename: Guenther
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Feigl
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Langsenlehner
authors.forename: Arnulf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hackl
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D009919:Orchiectomy; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D012306:Risk; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen