OBJECTIVES: To determine whether oncological outcomes are improved in prostate cancer patients by using a multidisciplinary strategy as compared with a standard clinic paradigm, and whether time to treatment is delayed when using a multidisciplinary approach.
METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed patients who were evaluated and pursued radical prostatectomy as primary treatment, by the same surgeons, in the prostate cancer multidisciplinary clinic (n = 194) and standard urology clinic (n = 741) at Duke University Medical Center from 2005 to 2009. Comparisons of baseline characteristics were examined using rank sum and χ2 -tests. Differences in time to radical prostatectomy and oncological outcomes were evaluated using multivariate linear and Cox regression, respectively.
RESULTS: A greater proportion of high-risk patients (D'Amico criteria) were evaluated at the multidisciplinary clinic compared with the urology clinic (23.2% vs 15.6%, P = 0.014). Mean-adjusted time from biopsy to radical prostatectomy was shorter for multidisciplinary clinic patients (85.6 vs 96.8 days, P = 0.006). After a median follow up of 21 months, no significant difference was found between the multidisciplinary clinic and urology clinic in the risk of biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy, whether controlling for clinical (hazard ratio 0.71, P = 0.249) or pathological variables (hazard ratio 0.75, P = 0.349).
CONCLUSIONS: Despite higher-risk disease, men evaluated using the multidisciplinary approach have similar oncological outcomes compared with men undergoing standard evaluation. Furthermore, time to radical prostatectomy is not delayed by the multidisciplinary management of these patients.
Written by:
Stewart SB, Moul JW, Polascik TJ, Koontz BF, Robertson CN, Freedland SJ, George DJ, Lee WR, Armstrong AJ, Bañez LL. Are you the author?
Division of Urology and the Duke Prostate Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Reference: Int J Urol. 2014 Jul 14. Epub ahead of print.
doi: 10.1111/iju.12561
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 25041422
UroToday.com Prostate Cancer Section
