title: A whole of population-based series of radical prostatectomy in Victoria, 1995 to 2000.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Radical prostatectomy (RP) as a first line treatment of prostate cancer was rare prior to the advent of prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing, yet little is known of its use and outcomes in a population setting. We described baseline characteristics of cases in the Victorian Radical Prostatectomy Register (VRPR), investigated possible associations between demographic characteristics and characteristics at diagnosis and at surgery and trends over time.
  
  
  METHODS
  The VRPR is a population-based series of all RPs performed in Victoria from July 1995 to December 2000 (n=2,154).
  
  
  RESULTS
  On average, socio-economic status for cases was higher than for the general Victorian population (34% vs 20% in the highest quintile respectively, p<0.0001). The proportion of PSA-detected cases increased from 53% in 1995 to 79% in 2000 (p for linear trend=0.0004). Age at surgery and PSA levels at diagnosis decreased over time (p=0.006 and p=0.04 respectively). The proportion of cases with Gleason score < or =5 from RP decreased from 35% in 1995 to 14% in 2000, while cases with Gleason score 6-7 increased from 60% to 79%. Similar trends were observed for Gleason score from biopsy. We found little evidence of significant trends over time in other pathological characteristics relevant to prognosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The VRPR provides a unique whole of population based description of radical prostatectomy in Victoria, confirms findings previously reported in single institution clinical series overseas such as migration to younger age at surgery and to Gleason scores 6 to 7, and provides a resource for evaluating RP outcomes in the future.
authors.affiliation: Austin Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria. damien.bolton@unimelb.edu.au
authors.forename: Damien
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bolton
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Severi
authors.forename: Jeremy L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Millar
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kelsall
authors.forename: Adee-Jonathan
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: Charmaine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Melisa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bagnato
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giles
authors.forename: Rodney
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Syme
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D012042:Registries; D012923:Social Class; D014739:Victoria / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen