title: Incidence, mortality and five-year relative survival ratio of prostate cancer among Chinese residents in Singapore from 1968 to 2002 by metastatic staging.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This paper examines the incidence, mortality and survival patterns among all Chinese residents with prostate cancer reported to the Singapore Cancer Registry in Singapore from 1968 to 2002 by metastatic staging.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a retrospective population-based study including all prostate cancer cases aged over 20 reported to the Singapore Cancer Registry (SCR) from 1968 to 2002 who are Singapore Chinese residents. Follow-up was ascertained by matching with the National Death Register until 2002. Metastatic status was obtained from the SCR. Age-standardised incidence and mortality rates, as well as the 5-year relative survival ratios (RSRs), were obtained for each 5-year period and grouped by metastatic stage. A weighted linear regression was performed on the log-transformed age-standardised incidence and mortality rates over the study period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the most recent period of 1998 to 2002, the age-standardised incidence and mortality rates (per 100,000) for prostate cancer among the Chinese were 30.9 (95% CI, 29.1 to 32.8) and 9.6 (95% CI, 8.6 to 10.7), respectively. The percentage increase in the age-standardised incidence and age-standardised mortality rates per year were 5.6% and 6.0%, respectively, for all Chinese Singapore residents. There was an improvement in the 5-year RSRs for Chinese diagnosed with non-metastatic cases from 51.3% in 1973 to 1977, to 76.1% in 1998 to 2002. However, the RSR remains poor (range, 11.1% to 49.7%) for Chinese diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both age-standardised incidence and mortality rates for prostate cancer among Chinese Singapore residents are still on the rise especially since the 1990s. Since the 1990s, the improvement in RSRs was substantial for the Chinese non-metastatic cases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore. ephcse@nus.edu.sg
authors.forename: Sin Eng
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Chia
authors.forename: Chuen Seng
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Gek Hsiang
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Xueling
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sim
authors.forename: Weber
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: Kee Seng
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Chia
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000175:diagnosis; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000401:mortality*; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends; D055815:Young Adult