TABLE 1.
Patient Characteristics (N = 256)
| Characteristic | No. | % |
|---|---|---|
| Mean age ± SE in yrs (range) | 65.0 ± 0.5 (45−80) | — |
| Marital status | ||
| Married or in marital relationship | 221 | 86 |
| Separated, divorced | 17 | 7 |
| Widowed | 12 | 5 |
| Never married | 6 | 2 |
| Ethnicity | ||
| Caucasian | 229 | 89 |
| African-American | 27 | 11 |
| Education (highest level achieved) | ||
| Graduated from high school | 68 | 27 |
| Graduated from college | 62 | 24 |
| Postgraduate training | 54 | 21 |
| Some college | 43 | 17 |
| Less than high school | 29 | 11 |
| Employment status | ||
| Not working | 134 | 52 |
| Working | 122 | 48 |
| Religion | ||
| Catholic | 116 | 45 |
| Protestant | 104 | 41 |
| Other | 18 | 7 |
| Judaism | 12 | 5 |
| Agnostic/atheist | 6 | 2 |
| Type of treatment | ||
| RP | 156 | 61 |
| BT | 51 | 20 |
| EBRa | 49 | 19 |
| Adjuvant hormone therapy | ||
| No | 216 | 84 |
| Yes | 40 | 16 |
| Mean days ± SE since diagnosis (range) | 173.5 ± 10.4 (33−1311) | — |
| Mean days ± SE since surgery (RP only) (range) | 48.0 ± 1.6 (15−98) | — |
| Mean days ± SE since seed implants (BT only) (range) | 43.2 ± 2.7 (7−87) | — |
| Mean days ± SE since start of radiation (EBR only) (range) | Mean = 43.5 days, SE = 3.1 | |
| TNM stage | Range 7−99 days | |
| T2N0M0 | 176 | 69 |
| T1N0M0 | 48 | 19 |
| T3N0M0 | 31 | 12 |
| Missing | 1 | < 1 |
| Gleason sum at diagnosis (mean ± SE) | 6.1 ± 0.1 | — |
| Other malignant disease | ||
| No | 228 | 89 |
| Yes (melanoma only) | 28 | 11 |
| Prostate problem before treatment | ||
| None | 185 | 72 |
| Benign prostatic hyperplasia | 40 | 16 |
| Prostatitis | 15 | 6 |
| Urination difficulties | 15 | 6 |
| Elevated PSA | 1 | < 1 |
SE: standard error; RP: radical prostatectomy; BT: brachytherapy; EBR: external beam radiotherapy; PSA: prostate specific antigen.
a
Thirty patients (61%) received concurrent radiation treatment at the time of data collection.