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We designed a nationwide study to investigate the association between socioeconomic factors (household income and education) and different aspects of prostate cancer care, considering both individual- and neighbourhood-level variables. Data were obtained from Prostate Cancer data Base Sweden (PCBaSe), a research database with data from several national health care registers including clinical characteristics and treatments for nearly all men diagnosed with prostate cancer in Sweden. Four outcomes were analysed: use of pre-biopsy magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 2018-2020 (n = 11,843), primary treatment of high-risk non-metastatic disease in 2016-2020 (n = 6633), rehabilitation (≥2 dispensed prescriptions for erectile dysfunction within 1 year from surgery in 2016-2020, n = 6505), and prostate cancer death in 7770 men with high-risk non-metastatic disease diagnosed in 2010-2016. Unadjusted and adjusted odds and hazard ratios (OR/HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Adjusted odds ratio (ORs) comparing low versus high individual education were 0.74 (95% CI 0.66-0.83) for pre-biopsy MRI, 0.66 (0.54-0.81) for primary treatment, and 0.82 (0.69-0.97) for rehabilitation. HR gradients for prostate cancer death were significant on unadjusted analysis only (low vs. high individual education HR 1.41, 95% CI 1.17-1.70); co-variate adjustments markedly attenuated the gradients (low vs. high individual education HR 1.10, 95% CI 0.90-1.35). Generally, neighbourhood-level analyses showed weaker gradients over the socioeconomic strata, except for pre-biopsy MRI. Socioeconomic factors influenced how men were diagnosed with prostate cancer in Sweden but had less influence on subsequent specialist care. Neighbourhood-level socioeconomic data are more useful for evaluating inequality in diagnostics than in later specialist care., (© 2024 The Authors. International Journal of Cancer published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of UICC.)

Background: Undertreatment of otherwise healthy men in their seventies with prostate cancer has been reported previously., Material and Methods: Using information in a Swedish prostate cancer research database, patterns of management and cancer-specific mortality were compared across age groups in over 70,000 men diagnosed with intermediate- or high-risk nonmetastatic prostate cancer between 2008 and 2020. Crude probabilities of death were estimated non-parametrically. Staging procedures, primary treatment, and cancer death were compared using regression models, adjusting for patient and tumor characteristics., Results: During the study period, the proportion of men treated with curative intent increased in ages 70-74 (intermediate-risk from 45% to 72% and high-risk from 49% to 84%), 75-79 (intermediate-risk from 11% to 52% and high-risk from 12% to 70%), and 80-84 years (intermediate-risk from < 1% to 14% and high-risk from < 1% to 30%). Older age was associated with lower likelihoods of staging investigations and curative treatment, also after adjustment for tumor characteristics and comorbidity. Men treated with curative intent and those initially managed conservatively had lower crude risks of prostate cancer death than men receiving androgen deprivation treatment (ADT). In adjusted analyses, ADT was associated with higher prostate cancer mortality than curative treatment across ages and risk groups. Among men managed conservatively, prostate cancer mortality was higher in ages 70 and above., Interpretation: Use of curative treatment increased substantially in older men with prostate cancer between 2008 and 2020. Our findings suggest reduced age-bias and under-treatment, likely reflecting improved individualized decision-making and adherence to guidelines recommending more active management of older men.

Background: The ability to account for comorbidity when estimating survival in a population diagnosed with cancer could be improved by using a drug comorbidity index based on filled drug prescriptions., Methods: We created a drug comorbidity index from age-stratified univariable associations between filled drug prescriptions and time to death in 326,450 control males randomly selected from the general population to men with prostate cancer. We also evaluated the index in 272,214 control females randomly selected from the general population to women with breast cancer., Results: The new drug comorbidity index predicted survival better than the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and a previously published prescription index during 11 years of follow-up. The concordance (C)-index for the new index was 0.73 in male and 0.76 in the female population, as compared with a C-index of 0.67 in men and 0.69 in women for the CCI. In men of age 75-84 years with CCI = 0, the median survival time was 7.1 years (95% confidence interval [CI] = 7.0, 7.3) in the highest index quartile. Comparing the highest to the lowest drug comorbidity index quartile resulted in a hazard ratio (HR) of 2.2 among men (95% CI = 2.1, 2.3) and 2.4 among women (95% CI = 2.3, 2.6)., Conclusions: A new drug comorbidity index based on filled drug prescriptions improved prediction of survival beyond age and the CCI alone. The index will allow a more accurate baseline estimation of expected survival for comparing treatment outcomes and evaluating treatment guidelines in populations of people with cancer., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The first case of COVID-19 in Sweden was diagnosed in late January 2020, the first recommendations against the spread of the virus were released in mid-March, and the peak of the first wave of the pandemic was reached in March-June. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the short-term effects of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic on prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis, staging, and treatment., Materials and Methods: Data in the National Prostate Cancer Register (NPCR) of Sweden on newly diagnosed PCa cases and on the number of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed between 18 March 2020 and 2 June 2020 were compared with those in the corresponding time periods in 2017-2019, as reported until January 31 of the year after each study period., Results: During the study period in 2020, 36% fewer PCa cases were registered in NPCR compared with the corresponding time period in previous years: 1458 cases in 2020 vs a mean of 2285 cases in 2017-2019. The decrease in new PCa registrations was more pronounced in men above age 75 years, down 51%, than in men aged 70-75, down 37%, and in men below age 70, down 28%. There was no decrease in the number of radical prostatectomies and number of radical radiotherapy courses increased by 32%., Conclusions: During the peak of the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of men diagnosed with PCa in Sweden decreased by one third compared with previous years, whereas there was no decrease in the number of curative treatments.

Introduction: Novel drugs have been shown to prolong life in men with metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) and castration resistant Pca (CRPC). The aim of Patient-overview Prostate cancer (PPC) is to register and report these treatments and their effect. Material and methods: In PPC, a new part of the National Prostate Cancer Register of Sweden data on start and stop of treatments, imaging, prostate specific antigen, clinical assessment of progression and patient reported outcome measures (PROM) are registered from initiation of hormonal treatment. Data are displayed in a graph to inform clinical decisions for individual patients. For research, data in PPC are linked to PCBaSe with information from NPCR and a number of health care registers. Results: In December 2019, 7 882 men had been registered in PPC out of whom 3 912 had reached the CRPC state. Median time to start of androgen receptor targeted drugs (ART) from start of ADT was 4 years (interquartile range IQR 6) for men with primary ADT, and 9 years (IQR 6) and for men with secondary ADT. Out of all men in PCBaSe with a prescription for ART in 2016-2017, PPC captured 1 480/4 055 (36%). There were small differences between men registered/not registered in PPC for cancer characteristics, primary treatment, comorbidity, and time on ADT before start of ART. Conclusion: In PPC, use and effects of novel therapies for advanced Pca are assessed in a real-life setting. PPC data are used as a decision aid, for quality assurance, and in research.

Objectives: To compare the loss of working time due to sick leave by treatment strategy for localised prostate cancer., Design: Nationwide cohort study., Setting: Sweden., Participants: A total of 15 902 working-aged men with localised low or intermediate-risk prostate cancer diagnosed during 2007-2016 from the Prostate Cancer Data Base Sweden, together with 63 464 prostate cancer-free men. Men were followed until 2016., Primary and Secondary Outcome Measures: Using multistate Markov models, we calculated the proportion of men on work, sick leave, disability pension and death, together with the amount of time spent in each state. All-cause and cause-specific estimates were calculated., Results: During the first 5 years after diagnosis, men with active surveillance as their primary treatment strategy spent a mean of 17 days (95% CI 15 to 19) on prostate cancer-specific sick leave, as compared with 46 days (95% CI 44 to 48) after radical prostatectomy and 44 days (95% CI 38 to 50) after radiotherapy. The pattern was similar after adjustment for cancer and sociodemographic characteristics. There were no differences between the treatment strategies in terms of days spent on sick leave due to depression, anxiety or stress. Five years after diagnosis, over 90% of men in all treatment strategies were free from sick leave, disability pension receipt and death from any cause., Conclusions: Men on active surveillance experienced less impact on working life compared with men who received radical prostatectomy or radiotherapy. From a long-term perspective, there were no major differences between treatment strategies. Our findings can inform men diagnosed with localised prostate cancer on how different treatment strategies may affect their working lives., Competing Interests: Competing interests: ML owns Pfizer and AstraZeneca shares., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Purpose: Lifestyle-related conditions such as obesity are associated with prostate cancer progression, but the associations with hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia are unclear. This study, therefore, aims to examine the association of glucose, triglycerides, and total cholesterol with prostate cancer death., Methods: From the Swedish AMORIS cohort, we selected 14,150 men diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1996 and 2011 who had prediagnostic measurements of serum glucose, triglycerides, and total cholesterol. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to determine the hazard ratios for death in relation to the aforementioned metabolic markers., Results: Using clinical cut-off points, a non-significant positive association was observed between glucose and prostate cancer death. When compared to those with glucose in the lowest quartile, those in the highest quartile had greater risk of prostate cancer death (HR 1.19; 95% CI 1.02-1.39). However, neither total cholesterol nor triglycerides were associated with prostate cancer death. Glucose and triglycerides were positively associated with overall, cardiovascular, and other deaths. Hypercholesterolemia was only associated with risk of CVD death., Conclusion: Our results suggest that glucose levels may influence prostate cancer survival, but further studies using repeated measurements are needed to further elucidate how glucose levels may influence prostate cancer progression.

Patients with high socioeconomic status (SES) have better cancer outcomes than patients with low SES. This has also been shown in Sweden, a country with tax-financed health care aiming to provide care on equal terms to all residents. The association between income and educational level and diagnostics and treatment as outlined in national guidelines and prostate cancer (Pca) and all-cause mortality was assessed in 74,643 men by use of data in the National Prostate Cancer Register of Sweden and a number of other health care registers and demographic databases. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, men with high income had higher probability of Pca detected in a health-check-up, top versus bottom income quartile, odds ratio (OR) 1.60 (95% CI 1.45-1.77) and lower probability of waiting more than 3 months for prostatectomy, OR 0.77 (0.69-0.86). Men with the highest incomes also had higher probability of curative treatment for intermediate and high-risk cancer, OR 1.77 (1.61-1.95) and lower risk of positive margins, (incomplete resection) at prostatectomy, OR 0.80 (0.71-0.90). Similar, but weaker associations were observed for educational level. At 6 years of follow-up, Pca mortality was modestly lower for men with high income, which was statistically significant for localized high-risk and metastatic Pca in men with no comorbidities. All-cause mortality was less than half in top versus bottom quartile of income (12% vs. 30%, p < 0.001) among men above age 65. Our findings underscore the importance of adherence to guidelines to ensure optimal and equal care for all patients diagnosed with cancer., (© 2018 The Authors International Journal of Cancer published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of UICC.)

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the use of abiraterone and enzalutamide, two oral novel antiandrogens (NOVAs), in men with prostate cancer (PCa) in Sweden., Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study investigated filled prescriptions for NOVAs recorded in the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register between July 2015 and April 2016. Associations between age, comorbidity, educational level, marital status and county of residence and filled prescriptions were analyzed in the National Prostate Cancer Register (NPCR) and other health population-based registers, using multivariable logistic regression., Results: Of 91,209 men, 1650 (2%) had at least one prescription filled for NOVAs, of whom 1350 (82%) had high-risk or metastatic PCa at diagnosis.. Of 1914 men with M1 disease and a high probability of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), 22% had a prescription for NOVAs at a median 3 years after the date of diagnosis. At multivariable logistic regression analysis,, the likelihood of NOVA use was lower in older men [age >80 vs <70 years: odds ratio (OR) 0.23, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.15-0.35] and in men with lower educational level (high vs low education: OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.23-2.20). There was up to a five-fold difference in the use of NOVAs between county councils., Conclusions: Less than one-third of potentially eligible men with CRPC received NOVAs in 2015-2016. There were large differences in use according to age and region of residence, indicating that efforts are needed to improve equal access to novel cancer drugs.

Purpose The association between exposure to testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and prostate cancer risk is controversial. The objective was to examine this association through nationwide, population-based registry data. Methods We performed a nested case-control study in the National Prostate Cancer Register of Sweden, which includes all 38,570 prostate cancer cases diagnosed from 2009 to 2012, and 192,838 age-matched men free of prostate cancer. Multivariable conditional logistic regression was used to examine associations between TRT and risk of prostate cancer (overall, favorable, and aggressive). Results Two hundred eighty-four patients with prostate cancer (1%) and 1,378 control cases (1%) filled prescriptions for TRT. In multivariable analysis, no association was found between TRT and overall prostate cancer risk (odds ratio [OR], 1.03; 95% CI, 0.90 to 1.17). However, patients who received TRT had more favorable-risk prostate cancer (OR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.16 to 1.56) and a lower risk of aggressive prostate cancer (OR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.37 to 0.67). The increase in favorable-risk prostate cancer was already observed within the first year of TRT (OR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.10 to 2.34), whereas the lower risk of aggressive disease was observed after > 1 year of TRT (OR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.32 to 0.61). After adjusting for previous biopsy findings as an indicator of diagnostic activity, TRT remained significantly associated with more favorable-risk prostate cancer and lower risk of aggressive prostate cancer. Conclusion The early increase in favorable-risk prostate cancer among patients who received TRT suggests a detection bias, whereas the decrease in risk of aggressive prostate cancer is a novel finding that warrants further investigation.

Background: Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) has been associated with reduced bleeding and shorter hospital stays than open retropubic radical prostatectomy (RRP), but it is unclear whether these differences translate into shorter absence from work., Objective: To investigate short- and long-term rates of work disability following RARP and RRP., Design, Setting, and Participants: We conducted a nationwide population-based cohort study of 2571 men of working age treated with RARP or RRP between 2007 and 2009 identified in the National Prostate Cancer Register of Sweden. Information about physician-certified sick leave and disability pension was retrieved from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency through 2012., Outcome Measurements and Statistical Analysis: We used Cox regression to calculate time to return to work (RTW, or duration of sick leave) after surgery and used generalised estimating equations to analyse days lost from work (because of sick leave and disability pension) after RTW., Results and Limitations: Men treated with RARP returned to work after a median of 35 d, whereas the corresponding time for RRP was 48 d (p<0.001). The difference was seen early; within the first month, men treated with RARP returned to work nearly four times faster than men treated with RRP (adjusted relative RTW rate 3.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.04-4.66). During a median of 3.6 yr after return to work, men treated with RARP lost fewer days from work per person-year than men treated with RRP-12 d versus 15 d-but the association was not statistically significant (p=0.10). The adjusted rate ratio was 1.08 (95% CI, 0.82-1.42). One limitation is the nonrandomised design of this study., Conclusions: RARP was associated with a faster RTW compared with RRP, but the surgical method did not influence long-term rates of work disability in terms of days lost from work after RTW., Patient Summary: We compared disease-related absence from work between two surgical methods for the removal of the prostate. Robot-assisted surgery was associated with a faster return to work compared with open surgery but did not influence absence from work in a long-term perspective., (Copyright © 2016 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Lifestyle-related risk factors such as hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia have been associated with several cancers. However, studies exploring their link with prostate cancer (PCa) clinicopathological characteristics are sparse and inconclusive. Here, we investigated the associations between serum metabolic markers and PCa clinicopathological characteristics. The study comprised 14,294 men from the Swedish Apolipoprotein MOrtality RISk (AMORIS) cohort who were diagnosed with PCa between 1996 and 2011. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression were used to investigate the relation between glucose, triglycerides and total cholesterol and PCa risk categories, PSA, Gleason score, and T-stage. Mean age at time of PCa diagnosis was 69 years. Men with glucose levels >6.9 mmol/L tend to have PSA<4 μg/L, while those with glucose levels of 5.6-6.9 mmol/L had a greater odds of PSA>20 μg/L compared to PSA 4.0-9.9 μg/L. Hypertriglyceridemia was also positively associated with PSA>20 μg/L. Hyperglycemic men had a greater odds of intermediate- and high-grade PCa and advanced stage or metastatic PCa. Similarly, hypertriglyceridemia was positively associated with high-grade PCa. There was also a trend toward an increased odds of intermediate risk localized PCa and advanced stage PCa among men with hypertriglyceridemia. Total cholesterol did not have any statistically significant association with any of the outcomes studied. Our findings suggest that high serum levels of glucose and triglycerides may influence PCa aggressiveness and severity. Further investigation on the role of markers of glucose and lipid metabolism in influencing PCa aggressiveness and severity is needed as this may help define important targets for intervention., (© 2016 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

An increased risk of malignant melanoma has been observed in men with prostate cancer. To assess potential shared risk factors and confounding factors, we analysed risk of melanoma in men with prostate cancer including information on tumor characteristics and demographics including socioeconomic status. In The Prostate Cancer data Base Sweden, risk of melanoma was assessed in a cohort of men with prostate cancer and in a comparison cohort of prostate-cancer free men. Data on prostate cancer risk category, melanoma stage, basal cell carcinoma, location of residency, and socioeconomic status were obtained from nationwide registers. Melanoma was diagnosed in 830/108,145 (0.78%) men with prostate cancer and in 3,699/556,792 (0.66%) prostate cancer-free men. In multivariable Cox regression models, men with prostate cancer had a significantly increased risk of melanoma (HR 1.18, 95% CI 1.09-1.27), and so had married men, men with high education and income, and men residing in southern Sweden. The strongest associations were observed for stage 0 melanoma in men with low-risk prostate cancer (HR 1.45, 1.14-1.86), high education (HR 1.87, 1.60-2.18) and top income (HR 1.61, 1.34-1.93), respectively, whereas there was no association between these factors and late-stage melanoma. Men with prostate cancer also had an increased risk of basal cell carcinoma (HR 1.18, 1.15-1.22). In conclusion, men with low-risk prostate cancer, high education, high income and residency in southern Sweden had an increased risk of early-stage melanoma., (© 2015 UICC.)

Purpose: Recent data suggest that neuroendocrine signaling may influence progression in some cancers. We aimed to determine whether genes within the five major stress-related signaling pathways are differentially expressed in tumor tissue when comparing prostate cancer patients with lethal and nonlethal disease., Experimental Design: We measured mRNA expression of 51 selected genes involved in predetermined stress-related signaling pathways (adrenergic, glucocorticoid, dopaminergic, serotoninergic, and muscarinic systems) in tumor tissue and normal prostate tissue collected from prostate cancer patients in the Physicians' Health Study (n = 150; n = 82 with normal) and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (n = 254; n = 120 with normal). We assessed differences in pathway expression in relation to prostate cancer lethality as the primary outcome and to biomarkers as secondary outcomes., Results: Differential mRNA expression of genes within the adrenergic (P = 0.001), glucocorticoid (P < 0.0001), serotoninergic (P = 0.0019), and muscarinic (P = 0.0045) pathways in tumor tissue was associated with the risk of lethality. The adrenergic pathway was also statistically significant (P = 0.001) when comparing against differential expression of genes not involved in the pathways. In adjacent normal prostate tissue, none of the pathways was clearly differentially expressed between lethal and nonlethal prostate cancer. The glucocorticoid and adrenergic pathways were associated with cell proliferation, while the glucocorticoid pathway was additionally associated with angiogenesis and perineural invasion., Conclusions: Our study suggests that stress-related signaling pathways, particularly the adrenergic and glucocorticoid, may be dysregulated in the tumors of men whose prostate cancer proves to be lethal, and motivates further investigation of these pathways in functional studies., (©2015 American Association for Cancer Research.)

Objective: Cancer quality registers are attracting increasing attention as important, but still underutilized sources of clinical data. To optimize the use of registers in quality assurance and improvement, data have to be rapidly collected, collated and presented as actionable, at-a-glance information to the reporting departments. This article presents a dashboard performance report on select quality indicators to cancer care providers., Materials and Methods: Ten quality indicators registered on an individual patient level in the National Prostate Cancer Register of Sweden and recommended by the National Prostate Cancer Guidelines were selected. Data reported to the National Prostate Cancer Register are uploaded within 24 h to the Information Network for Cancer Care platform. Launched in 2014, "What''s Going On, Prostate Cancer" provides rapid, at-a-glance performance feedback to care providers., Results: The indicators include time to report to the National Prostate Cancer Register, waiting times, designated clinical nurse specialist, multidisciplinary conference, adherence to guidelines for diagnostic work-up and treatment, and documentation and outcome of treatment. For each indicator, three performance levels were defined., Conclusion: What's Going On, a dashboard performance report on 10 selected quality indicators to cancer care providers, provides an example of how data in cancer quality registers can be transformed into condensed, at-a-glance information to be used as actionable metrics for quality assurance and improvement.

Purpose: Current EAU (European Association of Urology) guidelines state that prostate specific antigen 100 ng/ml or greater at diagnosis indicates metastatic disease. We examined the association of prostate specific antigen 100 ng/ml or greater at diagnosis with distant metastasis and prostate cancer specific survival., Material and Methods: A total of 15,635 men with prostate cancer diagnosed between 1998 and 2009 who were identified in PCBaSe (Prostate Cancer Data Base Sweden 2.0) were included in a population based registry study. Prostate cancer specific survival was compared among 3 groups, including 1,879 men with prostate specific antigen 100 ng/ml or greater and negative imaging (M0), 5,642 with distant metastases on imaging (M1) and prostate specific antigen 100 ng/ml or greater, and 3,828 with M1 and prostate specific antigen less than 100 ng/ml. A fourth group consisted of 4,286 men with prostate specific antigen 100 ng/ml or greater who had not undergone imaging (Mx). The latter men were not included in the assessment of survival., Results: Of 7,521 men with prostate specific antigen 100 ng/ml or greater who underwent imaging for staging 75% were classified with M1 disease. Only 59% of 3,527 men with prostate specific antigen 100 to 300 mg/ml had distant metastases on imaging. Five-year prostate cancer specific survival was 72% (95% CI 70-74) in men with prostate specific antigen 100 ng/ml or greater and M0, 24% (95% CI 23-25) in men with prostate specific antigen 100 ng/ml or greater and M1, and 39% (95% CI 37-40) in men with prostate specific antigen less than 100 ng/ml and M1., Conclusions: A fourth of men with prostate specific antigen 100 ng/ml or greater did not have distant metastases. They had twofold to threefold higher 5-year survival than men with distant metastases on imaging. Our findings strongly suggest that using prostate specific antigen 100 ng/ml or greater as an indicator of metastatic disease should be reconsidered., (Copyright © 2015 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Capture rate and representativity of quality registers need to be assessed in order to ensure that register data are generalizable., Material and Methods: In 1998-2009, 103 047 men had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and registered in the Swedish Cancer Register to which registration is mandated by law and of these men, 100 849 men (98%) had also been registered in The National Prostate Cancer Register (NPCR) of Sweden. We compared demographics, cancer treatment, comorbidity, and mortality in men in NPCR, with those who had only been registered in the Cancer Register, by use of data from the Cause of Death Register, the In-Patient Register and the Prescribed Drug Register. In addition, we identified 1929 men who had prostate cancer as underlying cause of death in the Cause of Death Register who had neither been registered in the Cancer Register nor in NPCR., Results: Compared to men in NPCR, men only registered in the Cancer Register were slightly older, median age 72 versus 71 years, and a lower proportion underwent radical prostatectomy, 15% versus 27%. Ten year prostate cancer mortality was 23% (95% CI 20-25) for men in the Cancer Register only and 24% (95% CI 24-25) in NPCR, while mortality from competing causes was 28% (95% CI 26-31) and 30% (95% CI 30-30), respectively. Men identified with prostate cancer by a death certificate were old and had high comorbidity., Conclusion: The capture rate of NPCR is very high and there are only modest differences in demographics, cancer treatment, comorbidity, and mortality between the small proportion of men only registered in the Cancer Register and men registered in NPCR, indicating that information in NPCR can be generalized to all men with prostate cancer in Sweden.

Background: Data in cancer quality registers are increasingly used for quality assurance, benchmarking, and research., Materials and Methods: Data in the National Prostate Cancer Register (NPCR) of Sweden were evaluated for completeness, timeliness, comparability and validity. Completeness and timeliness were assessed by cross-linkage to the Swedish Cancer Register, comparability was examined by comparing registration routines in NPCR with national and international guidelines, and validity was assessed by re-abstraction of data from medical charts for 731 men diagnosed with prostate cancer (Pca) in 2009. Furthermore, data on treatment were validated by record linkage to the Swedish Patient Register and The Prescribed Drug Register., Results: NPCR captured 98% of Pca cases in the Cancer Register and the mean value for completeness of the 48 evaluated variables was 90% (range 64-100%). Timeliness increased substantially from 2008 to 2012 with 95% of cases reported within 12 months after diagnosis in 2012. NPCR complied with national and international coding routines. Overall, the agreement between original data and re-abstracted data from 731 charts was high. For example, the correlation between original and re-abstracted data was 1.00 for date of surgery, and 0.97 for serum levels of prostate specific antigen and exact agreement was 97% for Gleason score at biopsy, 83% for clinical local T stage and more than 95% of the androgen deprivation therapies registered in NPCR had a corresponding filled prescription., Conclusion: Record linkages with other data sources and re-abstraction of data showed that data quality in NPCR is high., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Despite the high prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) in men with prostate cancer, little is known about the use of ED drugs. Also, the possible influence of socioeconomic factors on ED drug use has not been studied previously., Aim: The aim of this study was to examine determinants and patterns of ED drug use before and after diagnosis in men with localized prostate cancer., Methods: Using a nationwide population-based cohort, 25,390 men with localized prostate cancer diagnosed between 2006 and 2009 and 126,944 control men were identified and followed for filled ED drug prescriptions over a 3-year period, ranging from 1 year before and up to 2 years after diagnosis., Main Outcome Measures: The main outcome measure was the proportion of men with at least one filled ED drug prescription after diagnosis., Results: The number of men using ED drugs increased markedly following diagnosis. Men who underwent radical prostatectomy had the strongest increase, with a cumulative proportion of 74% for at least one filled prescription within the first 2 years after diagnosis. The corresponding proportion was 33% in men treated with radiotherapy, 21% in men on active surveillance, 10% in men on watchful waiting, and 8% in control men. Among men who underwent prostatectomy, usage attenuated over time. Determinants of postdiagnostic use were young age at diagnosis, high income, high education, and a low- or intermediate-risk cancer., Conclusion: Although drugs for ED are commonly prescribed after diagnosis, use among most men is transient and influenced by socioeconomic status. Posttreatment counseling and affordable ED drugs are likely to reduce treatment dropout and disparities in use and help improve sexual health and quality of life in men with prostate cancer., (© 2014 International Society for Sexual Medicine.)

Purpose: We investigated hospital readmission frequency during the 90 days after radical prostatectomy and assessed the readmission risk associated with potentially related variables., Materials and Methods: Using the population based, nationwide PCBaSe (Prostate Cancer data Base Sweden) we identified men diagnosed with incident prostate cancer between 2000 and 2011 who underwent radical prostatectomy as primary treatment. We used logistic regression analysis to examine the association of the risk of 90-day postoperative readmission with surgical method, calendar period, tumor risk category, hospital case load and patient characteristics., Results: During 90 postoperative days 2,317 of the 24,122 men (10%) identified were nonelectively readmitted, specifically 10% after retropubic, 9% after robot-assisted and 11% after laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. The range in readmission frequency among hospitals was 0% to 35%. Higher readmission risk was associated with the early calendar period (2009 to 2011 vs 2000 to 2002 OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.61-0.83), greater age (70 or greater vs less than 60 years OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.00-1.36), higher risk category (high vs low OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.57-2.03), high comorbidity (Charlson comorbidity index 3 or greater vs 0 OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.29-2.44) and low hospital surgical volume (150 or greater vs fewer than 30 radical prostatectomies per year OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.60-0.81)., Conclusions: Readmission rates after different radical prostatectomy methods were similar, ranging from 9% to 11%, with wide variation among hospitals. Readmission rates can be used as an indicator of perioperative care quality but potential confounders must be adjusted to avoid bias., (Copyright © 2014 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Reducing inappropriate use of imaging to stage incident prostate cancer is a challenging problem highlighted recently as a Physician Quality Reporting System quality measure and by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Urological Association in the Choosing Wisely campaign. Since 2000, the National Prostate Cancer Register (NPCR) of Sweden has led an effort to decrease national rates of inappropriate prostate cancer imaging by disseminating utilization data along with the latest imaging guidelines to urologists in Sweden. We sought to determine the temporal and regional effects of this effort on prostate cancer imaging rates., Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study among men diagnosed with prostate cancer from the NPCR from 1998 to 2009 (n = 99 879). We analyzed imaging use over time stratified by clinical risk category (low, intermediate, high) and geographic region. Generalized linear models with a logit link were used to test for time trend., Results: Thirty-six percent of men underwent imaging within 6 months of prostate cancer diagnosis. Overall, imaging use decreased over time, particularly in the low-risk category, among whom the imaging rate decreased from 45% to 3% (P < .001), but also in the high-risk category, among whom the rate decreased from 63% to 47% (P < .001). Despite substantial regional variation, all regions experienced clinically and statistically (P < .001) significant decreases in prostate cancer imaging., Conclusions: A Swedish effort to provide data on prostate cancer imaging use and imaging guidelines to clinicians was associated with a reduction in inappropriate imaging over a 10-year period, as well as slightly decreased appropriate imaging in high-risk patients. These results may inform current efforts to promote guideline-concordant imaging in the United States and internationally.

In 1987, the first Regional Prostate Cancer Register was set up in the South-East health-care region of Sweden. Other health-care regions joined and since 1998 virtually all prostate cancer (PCa) cases are registered in the National Prostate Cancer Register (NPCR) of Sweden to provide data for quality assurance, bench marking and clinical research. NPCR includes data on tumour stage, Gleason score, serum level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and primary treatment. In 2008, the NPCR was linked to a number of other population-based registers by use of the personal identity number. This database named Prostate Cancer data Base Sweden (PCBaSe) has now been extended with more cases, longer follow-up and a selection of two control series of men free of PCa at the time of sampling, as well as information on brothers of men diagnosed with PCa, resulting in PCBaSe 2.0. This extension allows for studies with case-control, cohort or longitudinal case-only design on aetiological factors, pharmaceutical prescriptions and assessment of long-term outcomes. The NPCR covers >96% of all incident PCa cases registered by the Swedish Cancer Register, which has an underreporting of <3.7%. The NPCR is used to assess trends in incidence, treatment and outcome of men with PCa. Since the national registers linked to PCBaSe are complete, studies from PCBaSe 2.0 are truly population based.

Purpose: Risk of suicide is increased among men with prostate cancer. We investigated this association among men with low-risk cancer, usually detected by prostate specific antigen (PSA)-testing., Patients and Methods: Relative risk (RR) of suicide was calculated by use of Poisson regression analysis within the Prostate Cancer data Base Sweden (PCBaSe) 2.0, a nation-wide, population-based database, comparing 105,736 men diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1997-2009 to 528,658 matched prostate cancer-free men., Results: During the first 6 months after diagnosis, there were 38 suicides among men with prostate cancer; incidence rate 0.73 per 1000 person-years (PY) and 30 suicides in the comparison cohort; 0.11 per 1000 PY, corresponding to a RR of suicide of 6.5 (95% confidence interval (CI) 4.0-10). Risk was highest among men with distant metastases, incidence rate 1.25 per 1000 PY, RR 10 (95% CI 5.1-21) but risk was also increased for men with low-risk tumours, incidence rate difference 0.45 per 1000 PY and RR 5.2 (95% CI 2.3-12) and across categories of socioeconomic status and comorbidity. Eighteen months after diagnosis, risk of suicide had decreased to 0.27 per 1000 PY, RR 1.0 (95% CI 0.68-1.5) for low-risk prostate cancer but remained increased among men with metastases, 0.57 per 1000 PY, RR 1.8 (95% CI 1.1-2.9)., Conclusion: Although the increase in absolute risk of suicide was modest, our findings reflect the severe psychological stress that prostate cancer patients may experience after diagnosis. The increased risk of suicide observed in men with prostate cancer, including low-risk, calls for increased awareness., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Prostate cancer (PCa) incidence and prognosis vary geographically. We examined possible differences in PCa risk by clinical risk category between native-born and immigrant populations in Sweden. Our hypothesis was that lower PSA-testing uptake among foreign-born men would result in lower rates of localized disease, and similar or higher risk of metastatic disease., Methods: Using the Prostate Cancer database Sweden, we identified 117,328 men with PCa diagnosed from 1991 to 2008, of which 8,332 were foreign born. For each case, 5 cancer-free matched controls were randomly selected from the population register. Conditional logistic regression was used to compare low risk, intermediate risk, high risk, regionally metastatic, and distant metastatic PCa based upon region of origin., Results: Across all risk categories, immigrants had significantly lower PCa risk than native-born Swedish men, except North Americans and Northern Europeans. The lowest PCa risk was observed in men from the Middle East, Southern Europe, and Asia. Multivariable adjustment for socioeconomic factors and comorbidities did not materially change risk estimates. Older age at immigration and more recent arrival in Sweden were associated with lower PCa risk. Non-native men were less likely to be diagnosed with PCa through PSA testing during a health checkup., Conclusions: The risk for all stages of PCa was lower among first-generation immigrants to Sweden compared with native-born men. Older age at immigration and more recent immigration were associated with particularly low risks. Patterns of PSA testing appeared to only partly explain the differences in PCa risk, since immigrant men also had a lower risk of metastatic disease.

Background: Prostate cancer patients have an increased risk of fractures as a consequence of skeletal metastases and osteoporosis induced by endocrine treatment. Data on incidence of fractures and risks in subgroups of men with prostate cancer are sparse. Our aim with this study is to report the risk of fractures among men with prostate cancer in a nationwide population-based study., Patients and Methods: We identified 76,600 Swedish men diagnosed with prostate cancer 1997-2006 in the Prostate Cancer Data Base (PCBaSe) Sweden and compared the occurrence of fractures requiring hospitalisation with the Swedish male population., Results: Only men treated with gonadotropin releasing-hormone (GnRH) agonists or orchiectomy had increased incidence and increased relative risk of fractures requiring hospitalisation. Men treated with GnRH agonists had 9.8 and 6.3/1000 person-years higher incidence of any fracture and hip fracture requiring hospitalisation than the general population. The corresponding increases in incidence for men treated with orchiectomy were 16 and 12/1000 person-years, respectively. Men treated with orchiectomy, GnRH agonists, and antiandrogen monotherapy, had SIR for hip fracture of 2.0 (95% Confidence Interval 1.8-2.2), 1.6 (95% CI 1.5-1.8) and 0.9 (95% CI 0.7-1.1), respectively. Men treated with a curative intent (radical prostatectomy or radiotherapy) or managed with surveillance had no increased risk of fractures. Older men had the highest incidence of fractures while younger men had the highest relative risk., Conclusion: Prostate cancer patients treated with GnRH agonists or orchiectomy have significantly increased risk of fractures requiring hospitalisation while patients treated with antiandrogen monotherapy had no increase in such fractures. In absolute terms the excess risk in men treated with GnRH agonists corresponded to almost 10 extra fractures leading to hospitalisation per 1000 patient-years. Effects on bone density should be considered for men on long-term endocrine treatment. Unwarranted use of orchiectomy and GnRH agonists should be avoided., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Outcomes for many cancer forms are associated with socioeconomic status (SES).We investigated if SES was associated with management and mortality in men with high risk prostate cancer., Material and Methods: A nation-wide population-based cohort in Prostate Cancer Data Base Sweden (PCBaSe), a merged database including data on incident prostate cancer identified in the National Prostate Cancer Register (NPCR) between 1997 and 2006. High risk PCa was defined as T3 tumour, and/or Gleason score 8-10 and/or PSA 20-50 ng/mL. Use of bone scan, curative treatment, and mortality in relation to SES was assessed by logistic, Cox, and competing risk regression with hazard ratios (HR), sub-distributed HR and 95% confidence intervals (CI) adjusted for co-morbidity, age, calendar period and clinical subgroups., Results: Amongst 17,522 high risk prostate cancer patients, a bone scan was more often performed in higher white-collar than in blue-collar workers (OR 1.30; 95% CI 1.21-1.40). Amongst men without metastases, the likelihood of intention to treat was higher in higher white-collar workers (OR 1.43; 95% CI 1.28-1.57). In men who received curative treatment, the likelihood was higher to undergo radical prostatectomy for higher white-collar patients (OR 1.29; 95% CI 1.10-1.47). In men without metastases, not only overall mortality was lower amongst higher white-collar workers (HR, 0.76; 95% CI 0.60-0.97), but also prostate cancer-specific mortality (sHR 0.70; 95% CI, 0.49-0.99)., Conclusions: We conclude that socioeconomic disparities in the management and mortality in men with high risk prostate cancer exist also within the setting of a National Health Care System aiming to provide care on equal terms to all residents., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Most population-based studies studied the association between inflammation and prostate cancer (PCa) by assessing C-reactive protein (CRP). As these findings have shown inconsistent results, we aimed to also study different markers that have been commonly taken as indications of inflammation. A cohort based on four groups of men (n = 34,891), according to age at cohort entry (45, 55, 65 and 75 years), with measurements of glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, haptoglobin, albumin, hemoglobin and leukocytes were selected from the Apolipoprotein Mortality Risk database. A total of 17,937 men had measurements of non-high-sensitive CRP. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were used to analyze associations between inflammatory markers and PCa. A total of 49 of 12,063 men developed PCa in the age 45 group, whereas 207 of 9,940, 472 of 8,266 and 276 of 3,618 were diagnosed in the age 55, 65 and 75 groups, respectively. Mean follow-up time was 7.5 years (SD: 3.9). No markers showed an association with PCa risk, nor was there a trend by quartiles or an indication for different PCa risks by strata of hypercholesterolemia, hyperglycemia and hypertriglyceridemia status. The studied markers were not found to be associated with PCa risk. These null findings might be due to methodological issues; however, it is unlikely that strong and long-lasting associations between inflammation and PCa risk were missed as this was a large database with long follow-up. This indicates need for international consensus on appropriate inflammatory markers in the context of cancer that may be practically applied in large studies., (Copyright © 2011 UICC.)

Background: There are limited prognostic data for locally advanced prostate cancer PCa to guide in the choice of treatment., Objective: To assess mortality in different prognostic categories among men with locally advanced PCa managed with noncurative intent., Design, Setting, and Participants: We conducted a register-based nationwide cohort study within the Prostate Cancer DataBase Sweden. The entire cohort of locally advanced PCa included 14 908 men. After the exclusion of 2724 (18%) men treated with curative intent, 12 184 men with locally advanced PCa either with local clinical stage T3 or T4 or with T2 with serum levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) between 50 and 99 ng/ml and without signs of metastases remained for analysis., Measurements: We followed up the patient cohort in the Cause of Death Register for ≤ 11 yr and assessed cumulative incidence of PCa -specific death stratified by age and clinical characteristics., Results and Limitations: The PCa -specific mortality at 8 yr of follow-up was 28% (95% confidence interval [CI], 25-32%) for Gleason score (GS) 2-6, 41% (95% CI, 38-44%) for GS 7, 52% (95% CI, 47-57%) for GS 8, and 64% (95% CI, 59-69%) for GS 9-10. Even for men aged >85 yr at diagnosis with GS 8-10, PCa was a major cause of death: 42% (95% CI, 37-47%). Men with locally advanced disease and a PSA<4 ng/ml at diagnosis were at particularly increased risk of dying from PCa. One important limitation is the lack of bone scans in 42% of the patient cohort, but results remained after exclusion of patients with unknown metastasis status., Conclusions: The PCa-specific mortality within 8 yr of diagnosis is high in locally advanced PCa, suggesting undertreatment, particularly among men in older age groups. Our results underscore the need for more studies of treatment with curative intent for locally advanced tumors., (Copyright © 2011 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aim: To explore whether the self-reported psychological distress among men with prostate cancer was to the extent that it required psychiatric treatment., Methods: PCBaSe Sweden, a merged database based on the National Prostate Cancer Register including 97% of all prostate cancers registered as well as age-matched controls. We calculated relative risks and 95% confidence intervals to compare risks of psychiatric treatment due to depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder controlling for age and socio-economic factors. We used odds ratios to compare use or no use of antidepressants., Findings: In total 72,613 men with prostate cancer and 217,839 men without prostate cancer were included for analyses. Psychiatric hospitalisation due to depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder were significantly increased (RR 1.29, (95% CI 1.14-1.45), RR 1.42 (95% CI 1.12-1.80) and RR 1.61 (95% CI 1.16-2.24), respectively). However, hospitalisations due to anxiety were only increased in men with more advanced tumours RR 2.28 (95% CI 1.45-3.57). The use of antidepressants was increased for all men with prostate cancer RR 1.65 (95% CI 1.54-1.77) and treatment strategies RR 1.93 (95% CI 1.75-2.13)., Interpretation: Men diagnosed with prostate cancer had increased risk of psychiatric treatment for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and use of antidepressants regardless of risk group and treatment strategy compared to age-matched controls, whilst more advanced prostate cancer was associated with severe anxiety disorders., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: A detailed analysis of lipid profiles, using apolipoproteins, has not yet been conducted for prostate cancer (PCa). Since several etiological pathways have been proposed for PCa and lipids, we aimed to study this in a large Swedish cohort with 1,469 primary prostate cancers., Methods: A cohort (n = 69,735) of all men aged 35 years or older, whose levels of triglycerides (TG) (mmol/L), total cholesterol (mmol/L), glucose (mmol/L), LDL (mmol/L), HDL (mmol/L), apoB (g/L), and apoA-I (g/L) were measured at baseline, was selected from the Apolipoprotein MOrtality RISk (AMORIS) database. About 2,008 men developed PCa. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were used to analyze associations between lipid components and PCa., Results: ApoA-I and HDL were inversely associated with PCa risk (e.g., HR for HDL: 0.93 (95% CI: 0.81-1.07), 0.88 (0.76-1.01), 0.81 (0.70-0.94), for second, third, and fourth quartiles compared with the first quartile; with p for trend: 0.004; HR for apoA-I: 1.00 (0.88-1.13), 0.93 (0.82-1.05), 0.88 (0.77-0.99),), for second, third, and fourth quartiles compared with the first quartile; with p for trend: 0.022). ApoB, LDL, and non-HDL were not associated with PCa risk., Conclusions: Our results show that low HDL and ApoA-I as well as increased lipid ratios are related to increased PCa risk. Experimental studies are required to tease out the underlying biological mechanisms linking these lipid components to PCa.

Background: In a cohort including 5112 prostate cancer (pCa) patients, the authors investigated associations among triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and pCa while taking into account glucose., Methods: A cohort (n = 200,660) based on 4 groups of men, according to age at cohort entry, with TG, TC, and glucose measurements was selected from the Apolipoprotein MOrtality RISk (AMORIS) database. Of these, 5112 men developed pCa. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were used to analyze associations among TG, TC, and pCa. Competing risks were assessed graphically., Results: Age-stratified analyses for quartiles of TG, TC, and glucose showed a negative association between glucose and pCa risk (HR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.86-1.01), 0.93 (0.86-1.01), 0.87 (0.81-0.94) for the second, third, and fourth quartiles compared with the first (P(trend) = .001). Stratified analysis by glucose levels (<6.11 or ≥ 6.11 mmol/L) showed a positive association between hypertriglyceridemia (TG ≥ 1.71 mmol/L) and pCa risk, when there were high glucose levels (HR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.01-1.48). No association was found for hypercholesterolemia (TC ≥ 6.50 mmol/L). Competing risk analysis showed that protective effects of glucose were overestimated in conventional Cox proportional hazard models and strengthened positive findings between TG and pCa risk., Conclusions: The authors'; findings supported the hypothesis that factors of the glucose and lipid metabolism influence pCa risk. Competing risk assessment showed that it is important to take into account the long natural history and age distribution of pCa when interpreting results. The authors'; findings indicate another reason to fight the increasing prevalence of obesity and dyslipidemia., (2010 American Cancer Society.)

Purpose: We examined associations among comorbidity, treatment decisions and mortality in patients with prostate cancer., Materials and Methods: A total of 77,536 men diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1997 and 2006 were identified in PCBaSe Sweden from the National Prostate Cancer Register of Sweden. Logistic, Cox and competing risk regression were used to assess associations among Charlson comorbidity index, treatment and mortality. The Charlson comorbidity index was categorized into no (0), mild (1) and severe comorbidity (2+)., Results: In men with low risk prostate cancer 5,975 of the 13,245 (45.1%) patients without comorbidity underwent radical prostatectomy compared to 256 of the 1,399 (18.9%) men with severe comorbidity. Following adjustment for age and period of diagnosis, radical prostatectomy was less likely to be offered to men with severe comorbidity (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.41-0.55). In men with high risk prostate cancer, radiotherapy was more common (range 7.7% to 21.3%) than radical prostatectomy (range 3.0% to 11.2%) regardless of comorbidity burden. All cause and competing cause but not prostate cancer specific mortality were increased in men with severe comorbidity (all cause HR 1.99, 95% CI 1.93-2.05; competing cause sHR 2.66, 95% CI 2.56-2.78; prostate cancer specific sHR 0.98, 95% CI 0.93-1.03). The cumulative probability of prostate cancer death given no death from competing causes was significantly higher in men with severe comorbidity in all risk groups (p<0.01)., Conclusions: Comorbidity affects treatment choices, and is associated with all cause, competing cause and conditional prostate cancer specific mortality. An increased conditional prostate cancer specific mortality in men with severe comorbidity may reflect less aggressive treatment, impaired tumor defense, lifestyle factors and poor general health behavior., (Copyright © 2011 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Family history is a strong risk factor for prostate cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate whether increased diagnostic activity is related to the incidence of prostate cancer among brothers of men with prostate cancer., Methods: Data were from the nationwide population-based Prostate Cancer Database Sweden (PCBaSe Sweden), which includes data from the National Prostate Cancer Register, the Swedish Cancer Register, the Register of the Total Population, the Multi-Generation Register, and the Census database. We investigated the relationship of tumor characteristics, time from diagnosis of the index patient (i.e., prostate cancer patients in the National Prostate Cancer Register for whom at least one brother and their father could be identified), calendar period, geographic factors, and socioeconomic status to standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) for prostate cancer among 22 511 brothers of 13 975 index patients in PCBaSe Sweden., Results: Brothers of index patients with prostate cancer were at increased risk for a diagnosis of prostate cancer (SIR = 3.1, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.9 to 3.3). Risk was higher for T1c tumors (SIR = 3.4, 95% CI = 3.2 to 3.8) than for metastatic tumors (SIR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.5 to 2.6), and risk of T1c tumors was especially high during the first year after the diagnosis of the index patient (SIR = 4.3, 95% CI = 3.8 to 4.9), compared with the following years (SIR range = 2.8-3.3), and for brothers of index patients who had a higher socioeconomic status (SIR = 4.2, 95% CI = 3.7 to 4.7), compared with brothers of index patients with lower socioeconomic status (SIR = 2.8, 95% CI = 2.4 to 3.2)., Conclusions: Increased diagnostic activity among men with a family history of prostate cancer appears to contribute to their increased risk of prostate cancer and to lead to detection bias in epidemiological and genetic studies of familial prostate cancer.

Purpose: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a potential adverse effect of endocrine treatment (ET) for prostate cancer (PC). We investigated absolute and relative CVD risk in 76,600 patients with PC undergoing ET, curative treatment, or surveillance., Methods: PCBaSe Sweden is based on the National Prostate Cancer Register, which covers more than 96% of PC cases. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) and standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) of ischemic heart disease (IHD), acute myocardial infarction (MI), arrhythmia, heart failure, and stroke were calculated to compare observed and expected (using total Swedish population) numbers of CVD, taking into account age, calendar time, and previous CVD., Results: Between 1997 and 2007, 30,642 patients with PC received primary ET, 26,432 curative treatment, and 19,527 surveillance. SIRs for CVD were elevated in all men with the highest for those undergoing ET, independent of circulatory disease history (SIR MI for men without circulatory disease history: 1.40 [95% CI, 1.31 to 1.49], 1.15 [95% CI, 1.01 to 1.31], and 1.20 [95% CI, 1.11 to 1.30] for men undergoing ET, curative treatment, and surveillance, respectively). Absolute risk differences (ARD) showed that two (arrhythmia) to eight (IHD) extra cases of CVD would occur per 1,000 person-years. SMRs showed similar patterns, with ARD of zero (arrhythmia) to three (IHD) per 1,000 person-years., Conclusion: Increased relative risks of nonfatal and fatal CVD were found among all men with PC, especially those treated with ET. Because ET is currently the only effective treatment for metastatic disease and the ARDs were rather small, our findings indicate that CVD risk should be considered when prescribing ET but should not constitute a contraindication when the expected gain is tangible.

Background: Cancer is associated with an increased risk of thromboembolic diseases, but data on the association between prostate cancer and thromboembolic diseases are scarce. We investigated the risk of thromboembolic disease in men with prostate cancer who were receiving endocrine treatment, curative treatment, or surveillance., Methods: We analysed data from PCBaSe Sweden, a database based on the National Prostate Cancer Register, which covers over 96% of prostate cancer cases in Sweden. Standardised incidence ratios (SIR) of deep-venous thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism, and arterial embolism were calculated by comparing observed and expected (using the total Swedish male population) occurrences of thromboembolic disease, taking into account age, calendar-time, number of thromboembolic diseases, and time since previous thromboembolic disease., Findings: Between Jan 1, 1997, and Dec 31, 2007, 30 642 men received primary endocrine therapy, 26 432 curative treatment, and 19 526 surveillance. 1881 developed a thromboembolic disease. For men on endocrine therapy, risks for DVT (SIR 2.48, 95% CI 2.25-2.73) and pulmonary embolism (1.95, 1.81-2.15) were increased, although this was not the case for arterial embolism (1.00, 0.82-1.20). Similar patterns were seen for men who received curative treatment (DVT: 1.73, 1.47-2.01; pulmonary embolism: 2.03, 1.79-2.30; arterial embolism: 0.95, 0.69-1.27) and men who were on surveillance (DVT: 1.27, 1.08-1.47; pulmonary embolism: 1.57, 1.38-1.78; arterial embolism: 1.08, 0.87-1.33). Increased risks for thromboembolic disease were maintained when patients were stratified by age and tumour stage., Interpretation: All men with prostate cancer were at higher risk of thromboembolic diseases, with the highest risk for those on endocrine therapy. Our results indicate that prostate cancer itself, prostate cancer treatments, and selection mechanisms all contribute to increased risk of thromboembolic disease. Thromboembolic disease should be a concern when managing patients with prostate cancer., Funding: Swedish Research Council, Stockholm Cancer Society, and Cancer Research UK., (2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: The risk of suicide is increased among cancer patients including men with prostate cancer (PCa). However, whether this increased risk applies to men diagnosed subsequent to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing is not known., Objective: To assess the risk of suicide among men diagnosed with PCa subsequent to PSA testing., Design, Setting, and Participants: The Prostate Cancer Base Sweden (PCBaSe Sweden) database, the Swedish Cause of Death Register, and the Swedish census database were used. The PCBaSe Sweden is a merged database that includes data from the Swedish National Prostate Cancer Register (NPCR) for cases diagnosed between January 1, 1997, and December 31, 2006. The number of suicides registered for cases in the PCBaSe cohort was compared with the expected number of suicides in an age-matched general male Swedish population., Measurements: Standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for different categories of cases., Results and Limitations: There were 128 suicides among the 77,439 PCa cases in the NPCR compared with an expected number of 85 (SMR: 1.5; 95% CI, 1.3-1.8). The risk of suicide was not increased for the 22,405 men with PSA-detected T1c tumours (SMR: 1.0; 95% CI, 0.6-1.5), whereas the 22,929 men with locally advanced nonmetastatic tumours (SMR: 2.2; 95% CI, 1.6-2.9) and the 8350 men with distant metastases (SMR: 2.1; 95% CI, 1.2-3.6) had statistically significant increased SMRs for suicide. Potential effects of comorbid medical and psychiatric conditions could not be investigated., Conclusions: No increased risk of committing suicide was observed among men with PCa diagnosed subsequent to PSA testing, whereas the risk was twice as high among men with locally advanced or metastatic disease, compared with an age-matched male population., (2009 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective. To construct a database for clinical epidemiological prostate cancer research based on linkages between the National Prostate Cancer Register (NPCR) of Sweden, a population-based, nationwide quality database, and other nationwide registries. Material and methods. By use of the individually unique Swedish Personal Identity Number, the NPCR was linked to the Swedish Cancer Registry, the Cause of Death Register, the Prescribed Drug Register, the National Patient Register and the Acute Myocardial Infarction Register, all held at the Centre for Epidemiology at the National Board of Health and Welfare, and the Register of the Total Population, the Longitudinal Integration Database for Health Insurance and Labor Market Studies and the Multi-Generation Register, held at Statistics Sweden, and to the Swedish Hernia Register. Results. Record linkages between the NPCR and the Swedish Cancer Registry, the Cause of Death Register and the Register of the Total Population generated a database, named PCBaSe Sweden, including 80 079 prostate cancer cases, diagnosed between 1 January 1996 and 31 December 2006. Record linkage between PCBaSe Sweden and the Prescribed Drug Register generated 59 721 unique matches and linkage to the Acute Myocardial Infarction Register resulted in 11 459 matches. Conclusion. PCBaSe Sweden is a newly created and unique database with over 80 000 cases of prostate cancer with comprehensive data on inpatient and outpatient care, patterns of use of prescribed drugs and socioeconomic and familial factors. Many topics in clinical prostate cancer epidemiology can be investigated. using PCBaSe Sweden.