Differences in overall survival and cancer-specific survival in high-risk prostate cancer patients according to the primary treatment

Introduction and objectives There is no high-level evidence as to which primary treatment provides an overall survival (OS) or cancer-specific survival (CSS) advantage in high-risk localised prostate cancer (HRLPC). Our aim was to analyse the differences in survival and predictive factors in this group of patients, according to their primary treatment (radical prostatectomy (RP) or radiotherapy and androgen blockade (RT + HT)). Material and methods A retrospective study of 286 HRLPC patients diagnosed between 1996 and 2008, treated by RP (n = 145) or RT + HT (n = 141). Survival was assessed using the Kaplan–Meier method. Significant differences between the different variables were analysed using the log-rank test. A uni and multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors. Results The median follow-up was 117.5 (IQR 87–158) months. The OS was longer (p = 0.04) in the RP patients, while there were no differences (p = 0.44) in CSS between either group. The type of primary treatment was not related to OS or CSS. Age (p = 0.002), the onset during follow-up of a 2nd tumour (p = 0.0001), and stage cT3a (p = 0.009) behaved as independent predictive variables of OS. None of the variables behaved as an independent predictive variable of CSS, although biochemical recurrence after rescue treatment (p = 0.058), and the onset of a 2nd tumour during follow-up showed a significant trend to statistical significance, the latter reducing specific cancer mortality (HR .16, 95%CI 0.02–1.18, p = 0.07). Conclusions Primary treatment did not relate to OS or CSS in patients with HRPC.