Clinical characteristics of prostate cancer in elderly Japanese patients 80 years of age or older

Objective: Prostate adenocarcinoma is predominantly a disease of elderly men. This study retrospectively examined prostate adenocarcinoma in Japanese patients 80 years of age or older to determine the natural history and prognosis of this malignancy in the elderly population. Methods: The medical records of 593 patients were reviewed, with respect to age, histologic grade, clinical and pathological stage, treatment modality and clinical outcome. A variety of possible clinical factors were compared between patient groups greater than or equal to80 and <80 years old. Results: No significant difference in clinical stage, tumor grade, and performance status (PS) was found between two age groups of patients with prostate cancer. A significant stage migration between pre-PSA era and PSA era was found only in the group <80 years old. In the series of stage D2 cancer patients, while there was no significant difference in cause-specific and progression-free survival rates between the two groups, the younger group <80 years old had a better marker response at 3 months from the start of endocrine therapy compared with the older group (P = 0.0048, chi(2) analysis). Conclusion: These data suggest that patients greater than or equal to80 years with prostate cancer present with similar histologic grade and disease stage as younger patients, although the younger group with stage D2 had a better marker response to endocrine therapy. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.