Definitive treatment and risk of death among men diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer at the Veterans Health Administration.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To assess the potential survival benefit associated with receipt of definitive treatment (radical prostatectomy or radiation), compared to non-definitive treatment (hormonal therapy or chemotherapy) among men with metastatic prostate cancer. METHODS: A cohort of men diagnosed with metastatic (T4/M1/N1 or T4/M1) prostate cancer from 1999 to 2013 in the Veterans Health Administration were identified and followed to December 28, 2014. All-cause and prostate cancer-specific mortality were evaluated at 10 years for the T4/M1/N1 cohort and 8 years for the T4/M1/ cohort. The association of definitive treatment (radical prostatectomy or radiation), compared to non-definitive (hormonal therapy or chemotherapy) with both all-cause and prostate cancer-specific mortality was assessed using inverse probability of treatment weighted (IPTW) multivariable survival analyses. RESULTS: The cohort included 2919 with T4/M1/N1 disease and 1479 men with T4/M1 disease. Receipt of definitive treatment was associated with a reduced risk of 10-year all-cause (Hazard Ratio (HR) 0.61; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.57-0.65) and prostate cancer-specific mortality (HR 0.50; 95% CI 0.46-0.55) among men diagnosed with T4/M1/N1 met-astatic disease. Definitive treatment was similarly associated with a reduced risk of all-cause (HR 0.84; 95% CI 0.77-0.91) and prostate cancer-specific (HR 0.81; 95% CI 0.73-0.90) mortality among men diagnosed with T4/M1 only metastatic disease. CONCLUSIONS: Definitive treatment may improve survival in men diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer.