Update on outcomes research databases in prostate cancer 2006

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Oncology
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Single-institution prostate cancer outcomes databases are common, often from academic, VA, or military medical centers.
• Multi-institutional databases offer broader insights into prostate cancer outcomes.
• Examples include the Carcinoma of the Prostate Strategic Urological Research Endeavor (CaPSURE), Center for Prostate Disease Research (CPDR), and Shared Equal Access Regional Cancer Hospital (SEARCH) database.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the design and development of prominent multi-institutional prostate cancer outcomes databases.
• To highlight the significance of these databases using obesity and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) trends.
• To underscore the role of outcomes databases in advancing prostate cancer research and patient management.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on prostate cancer outcomes databases.
• Analysis of data from multi-institutional databases (CaPSURE, CPDR, SEARCH).
• Examination of specific patient factors, such as obesity and PSA levels, within these databases.

Main Results:

• Obesity is associated with increased risk of biochemical progression post-radical prostatectomy.
• Obesity presents surgical challenges, potentially increasing positive surgical margins and poorer outcomes.
• Rapidly increasing PSA levels correlate with a higher risk of prostate cancer-specific mortality.

Conclusions:

• Prostate cancer outcomes databases are invaluable for improving the understanding of the disease.
• These databases provide critical data for managing current and future prostate cancer patients.
• Leveraging historical patient data from outcomes databases is key to advancing clinical practice.