scholarly journals Physician Recommendations Trump Patient Preferences in Prostate Cancer Treatment Decisions

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen A. Scherr ◽  
Angela Fagerlin ◽  
Timothy Hofer ◽  
Laura D. Scherer ◽  
Margaret Holmes-Rovner ◽  
...  

Objective. To assess the influence of patient preferences and urologist recommendations in treatment decisions for clinically localized prostate cancer. Methods. We enrolled 257 men with clinically localized prostate cancer (prostate-specific antigen <20; Gleason score 6 or 7) seen by urologists (primarily residents and fellows) in 4 Veterans Affairs medical centers. We measured patients’ baseline preferences prior to their urology appointments, including initial treatment preference, cancer-related anxiety, and interest in sex. In longitudinal follow-up, we determined which treatment patients received. We used hierarchical logistic regression to determine the factors that predicted treatment received (active treatment v. active surveillance) and urologist recommendations. We also conducted a directed content analysis of recorded clinical encounters to determine if urologists discussed patients’ interest in sex. Results. Patients’ initial treatment preferences did not predict receipt of active treatment versus surveillance, Δχ2(4) = 3.67, P = 0.45. Instead, receipt of active treatment was predicted primarily by urologists’ recommendations, Δχ2(2) = 32.81, P < 0.001. Urologists’ recommendations, in turn, were influenced heavily by medical factors (age and Gleason score) but were unrelated to patient preferences, Δχ2(6) = 0, P = 1. Urologists rarely discussed patients’ interest in sex (<15% of appointments). Conclusions. Patients’ treatment decisions were based largely on urologists’ recommendations, which, in turn, were based on medical factors (age and Gleason score) and not on patients’ personal views of the relative pros and cons of treatment alternatives.

2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (7_suppl) ◽  
pp. 107-107
Author(s):  
E. Ramahi ◽  
G. P. Swanson ◽  
F. Du ◽  
J. Basler

107 Background: Historically, patients with high-grade prostate cancer have the worst outcomes. With the advent of prostate- specific antigen (PSA) screening, diagnosing prostate cancer no longer depends on palpation of a bulky mass on digital rectal exam and prostate cancers are found at an earlier stage. Our aim is to determine the outcome of a modern cohort of high grade patients with the available treatment options. Methods: We reviewed the STVHS Tumor Registry and identified those patients diagnosed with prostate cancer between 2002 and 2008 capturing those patients with Gleason score >7 on biopsy. Details including all recorded PSA values, biopsy and surgical pathology results, primary, neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment, as well as response to treatment were recorded and analyzed using Kaplan-Meier estimates, log-rank test, and multivariate analysis using Cox proportional hazards models. Results: We identified 297 patients with Gleason 8–10 cancer with a median follow up of 35 months. Initial treatment was surgery in 136, radiation in 52, and androgen ablation in 110; one patient has both surgery and androgen ablation. Five and 10 year biochemical-free survival (BFS), metastasis-free survival, and overall survival are shown in the Table . Overall, 5 year biochemical failure-free survival was 50% and metastasis free survival was 89%, resulting in an overall survival of 77%. Conclusions: Historically, patients with a Gleason score of 8–10 have done very poorly. However, in the modern era, regardless of the initial treatment, the outcome is not as dire. Possible reasons are less bulky tumors or other facets of stage migration. While there is room for improvement, we should not have a nihilistic impression of how these patients will respond to treatment. [Table: see text] No significant financial relationships to disclose.


2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (18) ◽  
pp. 2182-2190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald C. Chen ◽  
R. Bryan Rumble ◽  
D. Andrew Loblaw ◽  
Antonio Finelli ◽  
Behfar Ehdaie ◽  
...  

Purpose To endorse Cancer Care Ontario’s guideline on Active Surveillance for the Management of Localized Prostate Cancer. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has a policy and set of procedures for endorsing clinical practice guidelines developed by other professional organizations. Methods The Active Surveillance for the Management of Localized Prostate Cancer guideline was reviewed for developmental rigor by methodologists. The ASCO Endorsement Panel then reviewed the content and the recommendations. Results The ASCO Endorsement Panel determined that the recommendations from the Active Surveillance for the Management of Localized Prostate Cancer guideline, published in May 2015, are clear, thorough, and based upon the most relevant scientific evidence. ASCO endorsed the Active Surveillance for the Management of Localized Prostate Cancer guideline with added qualifying statements. The Cancer Care Ontario recommendation regarding 5-alpha reductase inhibitors was not endorsed by the ASCO panel. Recommendations For most patients with low-risk (Gleason score ≤ 6) localized prostate cancer, active surveillance is the recommended disease management strategy. Factors including younger age, prostate cancer volume, patient preference, and ethnicity should be taken into account when making management decisions. Select patients with low-volume, intermediate-risk (Gleason 3 + 4 = 7) prostate cancer may be offered active surveillance. Active surveillance protocols should include prostate-specific antigen testing, digital rectal examinations, and serial prostate biopsies. Ancillary radiologic and genomic tests are investigational but may have a role in patients with discordant clinical and/or pathologic findings. Patients who are reclassified to a higher-risk category (Gleason score ≥ 7) or who have significant increases in tumor volume on subsequent biopsies should be offered active therapy.


2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 567 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Cicione ◽  
Francesco Cantiello ◽  
Cosimo De Nunzio ◽  
Andrea Tubaro ◽  
Rocco Damiano

Background: Biopsy Gleason score (GS), in combination with other clinical parameters, is important to take a therapeutic decision for patients with diagnosis of localized prostate cancer. However, preoperative GS is often upgraded after a radical prostatectomy. Increasing the amount of tissue in prostate biopsy may be a way to avoid this issue. We evaluate the influence of a larger biopsy needle size on the concordance between biopsy and pathological GS.Methods: We analyzed paired biopsies and prostatectomy specimens from 104 cases of men with clinically localized prostate cancer. At the time of prostate biopsy, the patients were prospectively randomized into two needle groups (16-Gauge [G] and 18G) using a 1:1 ratio. GS concordance was estimated performing kappa statistic testing, overall concordance rate and risk to under grade biopsy GS=6. A logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the patients’ characteristics as possible risk factors.Results: The overall concordance between prostate biopsy and pathological GS was 76.9% and 75.6% (p = 0.875) and the k values were 0.821 and 0.811 (p = 0.424), respectively, for 16G and 18G needle study groups. The risk to undergrade a biopsy GS=6 was 21.1% and 15.4% (p = 0.709) using a 16G and 18G needle, respectively. Age, prostate-specific antigen, prostate volume and needle calibre were not independently associated with a higher risk of GS discordance.Conclusions: Needle size does not affect the concordance between biopsy and pathological GS. Although GS is not the only way to determine treatment, it is still an unresolved urological issue.


2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (31_suppl) ◽  
pp. 15-15
Author(s):  
Clement K. Ho ◽  
Joseph D. Ruether ◽  
Bryan J Donnelly ◽  
Marc Kerba

15 Background: Treatment decisions in localized prostate cancer (LPCa) are complicated by the variety of available options. A rapid access cancer clinic (RAC) has been unique to Calgary, Alberta (AB) since 2007. RAC offers multidisciplinary prostate cancer care by a urologist, medical oncologist, and radiation oncologist. It is hypothesized that treatment utilization data from decisions taken at RAC may serve to benchmark the appropriateness of treatment decisions on a population level. Objectives: To compare utilization rates for initial treatment of LPCa between AB and RAC. Methods: Records of patients with clinically LPCa in AB between 2007-9 were reviewed with ethics approval. Records were linked to the AB cancer registry database. Clinical, treatment and health services characteristics pertaining to patients attending RAC were compared to those managed elsewhere in AB. The primary endpoints were utilization rates by initial treatment; prostatectomy (P), radiotherapy (RT), hormone therapy (H), active surveillance (A). A logistics regression model was constructed to examine the influence of RAC on initial treatment decisions, while controlling for interactions and factors of interest. Results: 2,660 patients were diagnosed with LPCa. 375 presented to RAC. Utilization rates among RAC patients: P-60.3% (95%CI: 55.3-65.2), A-16%(12.3-19.7), RT-11.7%(8.5-15.0) and H-8.0%(CI:5.2-10.8). This compares to AB rates of P-47.2%(45.9-48.3), A-6.1%(15.2-17.0), RT-18.8%(17.9-19.7), and H-14.5%(13.6-15.4). On multivariate analysis, RAC was associated with a trend towards receiving RT (OR 1.6, p=0.097). Conclusions: A specialized clinic for LPCa may be associated with a higher likelihood of receiving radiotherapy as initial treatment compared to the prostate cancer population in Alberta.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (7_suppl) ◽  
pp. 120-120
Author(s):  
Christopher Baker ◽  
Andrew M. McDonald ◽  
Grant Clark ◽  
Caleb Dulaney ◽  
Eddy Shih-Hsin Yang ◽  
...  

120 Background: There have been no prospective randomized controlled trials comparing current treatment options for patients with high-risk localized prostate cancer. This study seeks to compare the biochemical and metastatic outcomes of patients that received definitive radiotherapy (dRT) or radical prostatectomy (RP) for localized prostate cancer with Gleason score ≥ 8 on initial biopsy. Methods: A total of 106 patients met the inclusion criteria of Gleason score ≥ 8 on initial biopsy and biochemical follow-up ≥ 1 year. Seventy-one patients were initially treated with dRT (96% also receiving androgen deprivation therapy) and 35 patients were initially treated with RP (with or without postoperative RT). Our primary endpoint was biochemical failure (BF). For dRT patients, BF was recorded according to the Phoenix Consensus or if extranodal metastasis was diagnosed. For surgical patients, BF was recorded according to American Urological Association guidelines or if extranodal metastasis occurred. If adjuvant/salvage RT was given postoperatively, BF was recorded if PSA ≥ 0.5 on two consecutive measures after completion of RT. Pretreatment characteristics were compared using Pearson Chi-square method and independent samples Mann-Whitney U test. Actuarial rates of BF and metastasis were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: Median follow-up for all patients was 5.3 years. There was no statistical difference in clinical T-stage, initial PSA, or months of follow up between patients treated initially with radiotherapy vs. prostatectomy. Patients initially treated with dRT were significantly older than those treated with RP. The dRT group had a lower rate of BF compared to the RP group, p < 0.001. The Kaplan-Meier estimate of BF at 5 years was 7.6% in the dRT group compared to 34.5% in the RP group. Additionally, the Kaplan-Meier estimate of distant metastasis at 10 years was 22.7% in the dRT group compared to 55.9% of the RP group, p = 0.01. Conclusions: For our sample of patients with Gleason score ≥ 8 on initial biopsy, initial treatment with dRT was associated with lower rates of biochemical failure and extranodal metastasis when compared to initial treatment with prostatectomy.


2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 248-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Érika Aparecida Felix de Barros ◽  
José Pontes-Junior ◽  
Sabrina Thalita Reis ◽  
Amanda Eunice Ramos Lima ◽  
Isida C. Souza ◽  
...  

Background Some studies have reported that deletions at chromosome arm 9p occur frequently and represent a critical step in carcinogenesis of some neoplasms. Our aim was to evaluate the deletion of locus 9p21 and chromosomes 3, 7 and 17 in localized prostate cancer (PC) and correlate these alterations with prognostic factors and biochemical recurrence after surgery. Methods We retrospectively evaluated surgical specimens from 111 patients with localized PC who underwent radical prostatectomy. Biochemical recurrence was defined as a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) >0.2 ng/mL and the mean postoperative follow-up was 123 months. The deletions were evaluated using fluorescence in situ hybridization with centromeric and locus-specific probes in a tissue microarray containing 2 samples from each patient. We correlated the occurrence of any deletion with pathological stage, Gleason score, ISUP grade group, PSA and biochemical recurrence. Results We observed a loss of any probe in only 8 patients (7.2%). The most common deletion was the loss of locus 9p21, which occurred in 6.4% of cases. Deletions of chromosomes 3, 7 and 17 were observed in 2.3%, 1.2% and 1.8% patients, respectively. There was no correlation between chromosome loss and Gleason score, ISUP, PSA or stage. Biochemical recurrence occurred in 83% cases involving 9p21 deletions. Loss of 9p21 locus was significantly associated with time to recurrence (p = 0.038). Conclusions We found low rates of deletion in chromosomes 3, 7 and 17 and 9p21 locus. We observed that 9p21 locus deletion was associated with worse prognosis in localized PC treated by radical prostatectomy.


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