Disease specific death after external beam radiation of prostate cancer

Our purpose in this paper was to examine the association of age, race, stage, grade, and calendar period with and generate estimates of disease-specific mortality after external beam radiation for prostate cancer. Using data from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results Program, we fit proportional hazards models and used life table analyses to estimate survival distribution. High grade and stage, black race, and early calendar period were individually associated with disease-specific mortality. Disease-specific survival ranged from 43% for poorly differentiated regional cancer diagnosed in 1978-1982 to 88% for well differentiated localized cancer diagnosed in 1983-1987. Estimates of disease-specific mortality varied by grade, stage and calendar period of diagnosis. These estimates may be considered in evaluating future treatments.