Prostate Cancer Incidence by Age and Clinicopathological Characteristics: A Population-Based Study in Girona, Spain,...

The aim of this study is to determine the incidence of prostate cancer (PC) and its trends according to the age, Gleason grade (GG) and stage.

Population-based study of PC cases diagnosed in Girona, Spain, from 2010 to 2021. Age at diagnosis, date and method of diagnosis, histology, Gleason score, and stage at diagnosis were collected. Poisson and negative binomial generalized linear models were used to estimate incidence trends and incidence rate ratios (IRRs), respectively.

Five thousand three hundred nine cases were included, with a median age of 70 years (IQR:64-77). The age standardized rates according to GG ranged from 12.8 cases per 100,000 men-year (m-y) for GG 5 to 36.6 cases for GG 2 and from 19.9 to 52.6 cases per 100,000 m-y for stages IV and II, respectively. Overall, there was a decline between 2010 and 2014, with an annual percentage change (APC) of -6.1% (95% CI, -9.0, -3.1), followed by stabilisation (APC: -0.3% [95% CI, -2.1, 1.5]). Adjusted IRRs for GG 3, 4, and 5 were lower than GG 1 and IRRs for stages III and IV were lower than stage I; however, the IRR for stage II was higher (IRR = 1.53 [95% CI, 1.40, 1.67]).

Although the overall incidence of PC has remained stable since 2014, there has been an increase in cases with the worst prognosis. These cases usually involve elderly patients, who are the most vulnerable.