[Changes in clinical features of inpatients with prostate cancer in the past 11 years]

To investigate changes of the stage, age of onset, and prostate specific antigen (PSA) level of prostate cancer with socioeconomic development and medicare promotion.

The medical records of 784 inpatients with prostate cancer were analyzed retrospectively, who were diagnosed in Peking University First Hospital from 1997 to 2007. According to the time of diagnosis, all the patients were sorted into three groups: earlier group (1997-2001), intermediate group (2002-2004), and contemporary group (2005-2007). The tumor stages, ages, Gleason scores, and PSA levels of each group and of the three groups were compared to determine whether the discrepancies were significant.

The discrepancies of ages, Gleason scores, and stages between earlier and intermediate groups were not significant. The differences of ages and stages between intermediate and contemporary groups were not significant, but the change of Gleason scores was significant. The discrepancies of Gleason scores and stages between earlier and contemporary groups were meaningful, but the change of ages was not significant.

As time passes, PSA levels and tumor stages of prostate cancer patients show a descending trend, but the discrepancy of ages between the three groups is meaningless. The weight of low risk and intermediate risk groups in localized prostate cancer is becoming heavy.