BACKGROUND: Small-cell carcinoma of the prostate is an aggressive cancer whose rarity has prevented the development of a consensus management approach.
The objective of the current study was to determine the treatment patterns and evaluate factors affecting overall survival for patients with localized small-cell carcinoma of the prostate.
METHODS: After querying the National Cancer Database, we identified all patients diagnosed with localized small-cell carcinoma of the prostate between 1998 and 2011 (n=287). Using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression analyses, we assessed the effect of treatment and clinical stage on overall survival.
RESULTS: Treatments included radiation therapy in 46% (n=131), chemotherapy in 38% (n=107), androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in 22% (n=63) and radical prostatectomy in 13% (n=38). Median overall survival was 14.8 months. Upon multivariate analysis, local therapy (radical prostatectomy or radiation therapy) was associated with improved survival (hazard ratio (HR) 0.23, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.14-0.38, P< 0.001). Advanced clinical stage predicted worse survival among all men (cT3: HR 2.83, 95% CI 1.27-6.32, P=0.011; cT4: HR 3.26, 95% CI 1.50-7.07, P=0.003) and men who received local therapy (cT3: HR 4.67, 95% CI 1.41-15.44, P=0.012; cT4: HR 4.01, 95% CI 1.14-14.08, P=0.03) but not among men who received no local therapy (cT3: HR 1.64, 95% CI 0.51-5.27, P=0.4; cT4: HR 2.35, 95% CI 0.74-7.48, P=0.15). Age, receipt of chemotherapy and ADT, and clinical stage T2 disease (compared with T1) did not predict survival.
CONCLUSION: Men with localized small-cell carcinoma of the prostate have a poor overall survival. Local therapy may represent a suitable and underused modality for select patients.
Written by:
Weiner AB, Patel SG, Richards KA, Szmulewitz RZ, Eggener SE. Are you the author?
Section of Urology, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
Reference: Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2014 Sep;17(3):286-91.
doi: 10.1038/pcan.2014.26
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 25027862
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