CONSERVATIVE TREATMENT OF EARLY CARCINOMA OF PROSTATE - COMPARISON OF PATIENTS LESS THAN 70 WITH THOSE OVER 70 YEARS OF AGE

A retrospective study is presented of 155 patients with Stages A and B prostatic carcinoma, 1st diagnosed between 1930 and 1967, who had either delayed or immediate endocrine therapy. Patients were divided into 2 groups: less than 70 yr of age and over 70 yr. Fifteen yr crude survival of the less than 70 group was 42% (expected survival 54%) and that of the over 70 group was 16% (expected survival 7%). Patients more than 70 yr who have early prostatic carcinoma treated conservatively will survive as long as if they did not have this neoplasm, but patients less than 70 will live less long than expected. The 10 yr survival of the less than 70 group (66%) was only slightly less than the expected survival (71%), but there was a significantly greater difference in the 15 yr survival (42% vs. 54%) and 20 yr survival (23% vs. 35%). Therefore, a 10 yr follow-up period is not long enough to document the effectiveness of treatment. Of patients who lived 15 yr or more, there was no significant difference in the 2 groups in regard to clinical evidence of cancer at the time of the 15 yr follow-up. The number of patients who died of cancer before 15 yr was not significantly different in the 2 groups. Of the patients who died of cancer after 15 yr, 14% belonged to the less than 70 group and none was in the over 70 group. The grade of malignancy was approximately the same in each group, but diffuse lesions (A2 and B2) were more common in the less than 70 group (51%) compared with the 70-plus group (35%).