title: Retrospective study on stage B prostate cancer in the Hokuriku District, Japan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The present study was conducted to investigate how patients with clinically localized prostate cancer were treated in the Hokuriku District, Japan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical records of 536 patients with stage B prostate cancer were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were diagnosed and treated at four university hospitals and 32 collaborating hospitals in the Hokuriku District.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Because their medical records were incomplete and/or they not available for follow up, 79 cases were excluded from this study. Conservative treatment with hormone therapy was used for 248 cases. Radical prostatectomy was performed in 199 cases, only 27 of whom underwent surgical monotherapy. There was no significant difference in disease-specific survival rates between the hormone (69.0%) and surgery group (83.2%) after 110 months. Results of the analysis of disease-specific survival rates according to histologic grade showed that patients with poorly differentiated cancers treated with hormone therapy were the only subset with significant differences when compared against the other patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The value of prostatectomy alone or added was marginal in terms of survival. Only patients with poorly differentiated cancer might benefit from prostatectomy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Cancer Therapy and Urology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan. egawa@med.kanazawa-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Egawa
authors.forename: Toshimitsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Misaki
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Imao
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Yokoyama
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fuse
authors.forename: Kouji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Mikio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Namiki
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000726:Androgen Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000819:agonists; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011468:Prostatectomy; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D000726:Androgen Antagonists; D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone