Prostate cancer in younger and older patients: do we treat them differently?

Diagnostic and therapeutic strategies of prostate cancer may largely influenced by patients' age at presentation. This study is aimed to evaluate the characteristics, diagnostic and treatment strategies in prostate cancer patients in our centres. A cross-sectional analytic study of prostate cancer data in two main referral cancer centres, Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital and Dharmais National Cancer Centre from 1995-2010, was therefore performed. Patients were divided into 2 sub-populations; below 60 years (younger patients) and 75 years old and above (older patients). PSA levels, diagnostic modalities, Gleason score and therapeutic options were analysed for both and compared using bivariate analysis. 152 patients were <60 years and 210 were ≥75 years. There was no statistical difference in mean PSA level (797.9ng/mL vs 345.3 ng/mL, respectively; p>0.05) and diagnosis was made by biopsy in majority of patients in both groups (68.2% and 71.6% in younger and older groups respectively). Most presented with an advanced disease stage (65.1% and 66.0%, respectively) and there was no statistically significant difference in mean Gleason scores f (8.1 vs 7.7; p>0.05). Primary androgen deprivation therapy (PADT) was the main treatment for overall patients (48.0% and 50.7%, respectively). Radiotherapy and radical prostatectomy are the main therapeutic modalities for younger patients with local and locally advanced disease (39.6% and 35.4% respectively), while the majority of older patients with the same disease stage were treated with radiotherapy and PADT (45.8% and 39.0% respectively). Differences observed in treatment modalities were statistically significant (p<0.0003). We conclude that there is no difference in disease clinical aggressiveness of the two groups but significant differences were obseved in therapeutic strategies utilised with younger and older patients.