Low prevalence of prostatic cancer among myelopathy patients.

To test the hypothesis that carcinoma of the prostate (CAPR) is uncommon among patients previously paralyzed due to myelopathy, the prevalence of CAPR in patients with high grade (severe) paralysis was compared to that in patients with low grade paralysis. Sixty-six records of patients with CAPR following myelopathy were recalled from the Department of Veterans Affairs medical database for a seven-year period, 1986-1992. Thirty-four patients were unable to stand (high grade paralysis) and 32 patients could stand (low grade paralysis). The minimal, expected ratio of high to low grade paralysis is 2.3, based on general myelopathy populations, but the observed ratio was 1.1, p < 0.01. Patient age and racial distribution, duration and level of paralysis, stage and fraction of CAPR diagnosed incidentally were similar in the high and low paralysis groups. We conclude that severe paralysis due to myelopathy is underrepresented among myelopathy patients with CAPR and is therefore a relatively low risk factor for carcinoma of the prostate gland.