Prostate cancer: population-based survival rates in central Italy

To evaluate survival in prostate cancer patients in the Province of Florence where the Tuscany Cancer Registry is active.

The survival of 777 patients with prostate cancer diagnosed in the period 1985-87 was evaluated. The observed and relative survival rates 1, 3 and 5 years after diagnosis were computed. Also the prognostic effect of age, disease extension, tumor grade, histological verification, place of residence and year of diagnosis were evaluated using univariate and multivariate analysis.

The observed survival was 73.4% 1 year, 42.5% 3 years and 29.2% 5 years after diagnosis. The relative survival was respectively 78.7%, 53.0% and 43.0%. Significant independent risks were evident when the disease was extended out of the prostate, for patients older than 80 years, for high grade tumors and for patients without histological verification.

The 5-year relative survival rate in the province of Florence is similar to those from other European Registries and the Latina Registry, but much lower than the one reported by the SEER program in the US. Data on histological verification percentage, availability of information on disease extension, and tumor grade are discussed as indicators of the quality of the diagnostic approach in comparison with other registries.