title: Changes in patterns of practice for prostate cancer radiotherapy in Italy 1995-2003. A survey of the Prostate Cancer Study Group of the Italian Radiation Oncology Society.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In 2002, a survey including 1759 patients treated from 1980 to 1998 established a "benchmark" Italian data source for prostate cancer radiotherapy. This report updates the previous one.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data on clinical management and outcomes of 3001 patients treated in 15 centers from 1999 through 2003 were analyzed and compared with those of the previous survey.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant differences in clinical management (-10% had abdominal magnetic resonance imaging; +26% received ≥70 Gy, +48% conformal radiotherapy, -20% pelvic radiotherapy) and in G3-4 toxicity rates (-3.8%) were recorded. Actuarial 5-year overall, disease-specific, clinical relapse-free, and biochemical relapse-free survival rates were 88%, 96%, 96% and 88%, respectively. At multivariate analysis, D'Amico risk categories significantly impacted on all the outcomes; higher radiotherapy doses were significantly related with better overall survival rates, and a similar trend was evident for disease-specific and biochemical relapse-free survival; cumulative probability of 5-year late G1-4 toxicity was 24.8% and was significantly related to higher radiotherapy doses (P <0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The changing patterns of practice described seem related to an improvement in efficacy and safety of radiotherapy for prostate cancer. However, the impact of the new radiotherapy techniques should be prospectively evaluated.
authors.forename: Ludovica
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pegurri
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buglione
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Girelli
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guarnieri
authors.forename: Icro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Meattini
authors.forename: Umberto
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ricardi
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mangoni
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gabriele
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bellavita
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krengli
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bonetta
authors.forename: Emanuela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cagna
authors.forename: Feisal
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bunkheila
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Borghesi
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Signor
authors.forename: Adriano
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Marco
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bertoni
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stefanacci
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gatta
authors.forename: Berardino
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: De Bari
authors.forename: Stefano Maria
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Magrini
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000097:blood; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D020266:Radiotherapy, Conformal / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012955:Societies, Medical; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen