title: Four prognostic indices in advanced prostate cancer patients, under palliative androgen deprivation treatment.
abstract: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of death in men aged 40 years and older ]and prognostic indices are useful in suggesting its proper treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of Gleason score (GS), TNM staging system, initial serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) and bone scintigraphy (BS) in patients with PCa under hormonal palliative treatment, in the development and progression of recurrent PCa. Our methods were as follows: Between January 2005 and December 2007, we have studied at the University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis fourty patients of mean age 77+/-7.2 years with advanced PCa under palliative treatment with antiandrogens and luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogues. PCa was diagnosed histologically, based on the TNM system after transrectal ultrasonography guided biopsy. The Gleason score assessment was made as described by others. Metastases were confirmed by a positive bone scintigraphy with 925 MBq (99m)Tc-MDP using a tomographic gamma camera, computerized axial tomography or magnetic resonance imagining. Measurements of PSA were conducted by the radioimmunoassay method. We also examined 20 healthy blood donors (median age 45+/-6.1 years) as controls, in order to estimate the cut-off value of PSA. Our results show the following: Thirteen of our patients had 1-6 "hot" spots and 27 had more than 6 "hot" spots in the bone scan. The median Gleason score was 7 (modal Gleason score 3+4). Serum PSA levels were higher in patients with PCa and bone metastases in comparison to those with PCa without bone metastases. Very high values of PSA (more than 50 ng/ml) were found in patients with multiple bone metastases (>6 "hot" spots). In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that the prognostic value of GS (P=0.043), TNM staging (P=0.1410), serum PSA levels (P=0.002) and BS (P=0.0135) when used alone, not always improve the prognosis to hormone indepentent but when combined (P<0.001) increase the prognosis in patients with advanced PCa under hormonal palliative treatment.
authors.affiliation: Urology Department, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece. bantis68@otenet.gr
authors.forename: Alphathanasios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bantis
authors.forename: Athanasios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zissimopoulos
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kalaitzis
authors.forename: Stilianos
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Giannakopoulos
authors.forename: Petros
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sountoulides
authors.forename: Vanesa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Parmenopoulou
authors.forename: Eleni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Agelonidou
authors.forename: Stavros
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Touloupidis
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000726:Androgen Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods; D011379:Prognosis; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000097:blood; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013669:Technetium Tc 99m Medronate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000726:Androgen Antagonists; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen; D013669:Technetium Tc 99m Medronate