Prostate cancer among Saudis: a registry review

Policy makers in Saudi Arabia greatly rely on published studies to make major public health decisions. Prostate cancer (PCa) studies in Saudi Arabia are either outdated or limited to local regions.

The authors aim to analyze the Saudi Cancer Registry to determine the incidence of PCa across all regions of the Kingdom and the risk factors of poor prognosis in the population.

Patients diagnosed with primary PCa from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2017 were included in the study from the Saudi Cancer Registry. Incidence rates and risk factors for poor survival were calculated.

A total of 3607 PCa patients were retrieved. PCa incidence rates ranged from 0.2 to 1.4 per 100 000. Most of the patients were aged 60 and older (86.5%; n=3120), married (97%; n=3497) and lived in the central region (38.1%; n=1375). The mean age at diagnosis was 71.1 (10.8) years. Over half of all tumors were poorly differentiated (64.2%; n=2317), and localized (60.4%; n=2180). The all-time metastasis rate reached 31.4% (n=1131). The lowest mean survival was in those with distant metastasis (P=0.039). Age groups, marital status, tumor morphology, place of residency, and grade were not proven to significantly influence survival.

The high metastasis rate and evidence of a greater incidence of newly diagnosed metastatic PCa indicate that the idea of select screening for certain high-risk populations is not farfetched. The authors encourage the promotion of awareness regarding PCa risk factors and screening to optimize prognosis and minimize late presentations and high metastasis rates.