title: Postoperative radiotherapy for patients with prostate cancer in Japan; Changing trends in national practice between 1996-98 and 1999-2001: Patterns of care study for prostate cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the changing trends of standards and practices for postoperative radiotherapy (RT) for patients with prostate cancer in Japan.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Japanese Patterns of Care Study (PCS) conducted a national survey in 84 institutions from 1996 to 1998 (PCS96-98) and 76 institutions from 1999 to 2001 (PCS99-01). Detailed information relevant to RT was collected on a total of 169 patients (64 from 1996 to 1998 and 105 from 1999 to 2001) with prostate cancer who had undergone radical prostatectomy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The fraction of clinical T3-4 tumours before prostatectomy decreased from 63% in the period 1996-98 to 26% in the period 1999-2001 (P = 0.0004). The pre-RT prostate-specific antigen level was significantly lower in 1999-2001 than in 1996-98 (P = 0.0002). We did not find a significant difference in the percentage of patients who received pelvic irradiation in the time periods between PCS96-98 and PCS99-01 (P = 0.18). Although the median radiation doses of 60 Gy were not changed between the surveys, various doses (from 20 to 74.6 Gy) were delivered to the prostatic bed. In the 1999-2001 survey, 73 of 105 patients received a median dose of 56 Gy in an adjuvant setting, while the other 32 received a median dose of 60 Gy in a salvage setting (P = 0.0015).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data suggest that consensus has not been reached on the practice and management of postoperative RT for patients with prostate cancer in Japan.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, National Kyushu Cancer Center, Minami-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. tsasaki@nk-cc.go.jp
authors.forename: Tomonari
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Katsumasa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Onishi
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Otani
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koizumi
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shioyama
authors.forename: Teruki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Teshima
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011184:Postoperative Period; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000097:blood; D011468:Prostatectomy; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D011882:Radiotherapy, High-Energy
chemical_list: D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen