Outcomes of Prostatectomy versus Radiation Therapy in the Management of Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer Patients Within the PLCO Trial

Background

The objective of the study was to evaluate the outcomes of clinically localized prostate cancer treated with prostatectomy versus radiation therapy within the context of a prospective prostate cancer screening study.

Patients and Methods

Within the PLCO (Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovary) trial, patients who were diagnosed with clinically localized prostate cancer and subsequently received treatment with prostatectomy or radiation therapy (with or without hormonal treatment) were included. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were then performed to determine factors affecting overall and prostate cancer-specific survival. Factors with P < .05 in univariate analysis were included in the multivariate analysis.

Results

A total of 3953 patients were included in the current analysis. These included 2044 patients treated with prostatectomy and 1909 patients treated with radiation therapy with or without hormonal treatment. In an adjusted multivariate analysis for factors affecting overall survival, prostatectomy was associated with better overall survival compared with radiation therapy (hazard ratio, 0.548; 95% confidence interval CI], 0.440- 681; P < .001). Likewise, in an adjusted multivariate analysis for factors affecting prostate cancer-specific survival, prostatectomy was associated with better prostate cancer-specific survival compared with radiation therapy (hazard ratio, 0.485; 95% CI, 0.286- 0.822; P = .007). Similar findings were found with propensity score matching and repeating the same analyses on the post-matching cohort.

Conclusion

Prostatectomy seems to predict better overall and prostate cancer-specific survival compared with radiation therapy among patients with clinically localized prostate cancer diagnosed within the PLCO trial.