Relationship of age to outcome and clinicopathologic findings in men submitted to radical prostatectomy.
OBJECTIVE
It is controversial whether age is associated with higher grade and worse outcome. Some studies have not found age to be related to outcome nor younger age to be associated with better response to therapy.


METHODS
The study population consisted of 27 patients aged 55 years or younger and 173 patients 56 years or older submitted to radical prostatectomy. The variables studied were preoperative PSA, time to PSA progression following radical prostatectomy and pathologic findings in surgical specimens: Gleason score, Gleason predominant grade, positive surgical margins, tumor extent, extraprostatic extension (pT3a), and seminal vesicle invasion (pT3b).


RESULTS
Comparing patients aged 55 years or younger and 56 years or older, there was no statistically significant difference for all variables studied: preoperative PSA (p = 0.4417), Gleason score (p = 0.3934), Gleason predominant grade (p = 0.2653), tumor extent (p = 0.1190), positive surgical margins (p = 0.8335), extraprostatic extension (p = 0.3447) and seminal vesicle invasion (p > 0.9999). During the study period, 44 patients (22%) developed PSA progression. No difference was found in the time to biochemical progression between men aged 55 years or younger and 56 years or older.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that age alone do not influence the biological aggressiveness of prostate cancer.
Billis
Athanase
A
Department of Anatomic Pathology, School of Medicine, State University of Campinas, Unicamp, Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil. athanase@fcm.unicamp.br
Magna
Luis A
LA
Lira
Mariana M
MM
Moreira
Luciana R
LR
Okamura
Helio
H
Paz
Alexandre R
AR
Perina
Rita C
RC
Triglia
Renata M
RM
Ferreira
Ubirajara
U
D000367:Age Factors; D001706:Biopsy; D018450:Disease Progression; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D011468:Prostatectomy; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D012669:Seminal Vesicles / Q000473:pathology*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen