title: Is year of radical prostatectomy a predictor of outcome in prostate cancer?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We examined whether the year in which radical prostatectomy (RP) was performed is a predictor of treatment outcome after controlling for standard prognostic factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined the association between RP year and outcome in 6,556 patients from 7 centers using preoperative and pathological features. Patients underwent surgery between 1985 and 2000. The variables analyzed were RP year, clinical stage, pretreatment prostate specific antigen, biopsy Gleason sum, RP Gleason sum, margin status, level of extracapsular extension, seminal vesicle status, lymph node status, neoadjuvant hormones and adjuvant therapy. Median followup was 23 months (maximum 166). Separate Cox multivariate regression analyses were performed to analyze preoperative and postoperative factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  RP year was a predictor of outcome on preoperative analysis (p = 0.006) but not on postoperative analysis (p = 0.130). Patient outcome steadily improved with surgery through the mid 1990s and then it appeared to level off.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  When controlling for preoperative features, the year in which RP was performed is a predictor of outcome on multivariate analysis. This effect could not be explained by stage migration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10021, USA.
authors.forename: Ilias
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cagiannos
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Karakiewicz
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Graefen
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Eastham
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ohori
authors.forename: Farhang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rabbani
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Reuter
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wheeler
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kupelian
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: Hartwig
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huland
authors.forename: Peter G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Hammerer
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Erbersdobler
authors.forename: Fritz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schroeder
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wildhagen
authors.forename: David I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Henshall
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Grygiel
authors.forename: Robert L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Sutherland
authors.forename: Phillip D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Stricker
authors.forename: Christopher G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Morash
authors.forename: Peter T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Scardino
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Kattan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000592:standards*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome