Changes in Clinical Characteristics of Patients with an Initial Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer in Korea: 10-Year Trends Reported by a Tertiary Center.

BACKGROUND: The Korea Central Cancer Registry reported that incidence rates of prostate cancer have not increased continuously. We used recent trends in the incidence of prostate cancer to generate a preliminary report of the Korean population with prostate cancer.

METHODS: Patients initially diagnosed with prostate cancer by prostate biopsy from 2006 to 2015 at our tertiary center were selected. All patients were categorized according to age (< 65, 65-75, > 75 years), time period (2006-2010 vs. 2011-2015), and risk classification. Patients with insufficient data were excluded from the analysis.

RESULTS: Of 675 patients (median prostate-specific antigen [PSA], 9.09 ng/mL), those with a Gleason score (GS) of 6 (32.3%) comprised the largest proportion in our cohort. The proportion with a GS of 8 increased for those aged 65-75 years, despite the lack of increase in PSA. Treatment patterns changed for those with very low to low risk cancer. The overall survival (OS) rate and the cancer-specific survival (CSS) rate for all patients at 5 years were 87% and 90%, respectively. Patients with a low body mass index (BMI; ≤ 23 kg/m²) had worse median OS and CSS rates.

CONCLUSION: Significant differences in risk classifications and initial treatments were found between 2006-2010 and 2011-2015. Although PSA did not change, the GS did change. Lower BMI (≤ 23 kg/m²) had worse effects on OS and CSS rates for Korean prostate cancer patients.