Table 2.
Baseline patient and facility characteristics and unadjusted rates of primary treatments for men with low-risk prostate cancers
| Baseline characteristics | All (n, %) |
Radical prostatectomy (%) |
Radiation (%) |
PADT (%) |
No active treatment (%) |
P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||||
| N = 5,616 (100.0) | N = 312 (5.6) | N = 2,096 (37.3) | N = 509 (9.1) | N = 2,699 (48.1) | ||
|
| ||||||
| Agea | <0.0001 | |||||
|
| ||||||
| 65–69 | 2,371 (42.2) | 8.8 | 41.6 | 5.5 | 44.1 | |
| 70–74 | 2,005 (35.7) | 4.2 | 40.8 | 8.9 | 46.1 | |
| 75+ | 1,240 (22.1) | 1.5 | 23.4 | 16.2 | 58.9 | |
|
| ||||||
| Racea | 0.002 | |||||
|
| ||||||
| White | 4,403 (78.7) | 6.0 | 36.5 | 9.2 | 48.3 | |
| Black | 1,046 (18.7) | 3.5 | 40.7 | 7.7 | 48.1 | |
| Other | 146 (2.6) | 6.8 | 37.0 | 13.7 | 42.5 | |
|
| ||||||
| Marrieda | <0.0001 | |||||
|
| ||||||
| No | 2,118 (38.0) | 4.5 | 37.2 | 8.8 | 49.5 | |
| Yes | 3,451 (62.0) | 6.3 | 37.3 | 9.2 | 47.2 | |
|
| ||||||
| Lived in an area in which ≥25% of adults had a college educationa | <0.001 | |||||
|
| ||||||
| No | 3,800 (70.0) | 5.6 | 37.3 | 10.1 | 47.0 | |
| Yes | 1,631 (30.0) | 5.5 | 37.0 | 6.8 | 50.7 | |
|
| ||||||
| Census regionb | <0.0001 | |||||
|
| ||||||
| Midwest | 1,238 (22.1) | 5.0 | 37.5 | 7.7 | 49.8 | |
| Northeast | 893 (15.9) | 5.7 | 38.1 | 6.8 | 49.4 | |
| South | 2,490 (44.3) | 5.0 | 39.4 | 11.5 | 44.1 | |
| West | 995 (17.7) | 7.4 | 31.2 | 6.8 | 54.6 | |
|
| ||||||
| Charlson comorbidity score | <0.0001 | |||||
|
| ||||||
| 0 | 3,279 (58.4) | 6.3 | 38.7 | 9.4 | 45.6 | |
| 1–2 | 1,686 (30.0) | 4.8 | 36.8 | 8.4 | 50.0 | |
| ≥ 3 | 651 (11.6) | 3.7 | 31.8 | 9.1 | 55.4 | |
|
| ||||||
| Clinical tumor stage | 0.07 | |||||
|
| ||||||
| T1c | 4,655 (82.9) | 5.5 | 37.8 | 8.9 | 47.8 | |
|
| ||||||
| T2a | 961 (17.1) | 5.6 | 35.2 | 9.7 | 49.5 | |
|
| ||||||
| PSA (ng/mL, before cancer diagnosis) | <0.0001 | |||||
|
| ||||||
| < 4 | 884 (15.7) | 6.2 | 30.1 | 8.8 | 54.9 | |
| 4 to <10 | 4,732 (84.3) | 5.4 | 38.7 | 9.1 | 46.8 | |
| ≥ 10 | – | – | – | – | – | |
|
| ||||||
| Gleason score (biopsy)a | <0.0001 | |||||
|
| ||||||
| 2–6 | 5,616 (100.0) | 5.6 | 37.3 | 9.1 | 48.0 | |
| 7–10 | – | – | – | – | – | |
|
| ||||||
| Distance to diagnosing VA (miles)a | <0.0001 | |||||
|
| ||||||
| 0 to <10 | 3,020 (53.8) | 5.1 | 37.8 | 8.9 | 48.2 | |
| 10 to <50 | 2,503 (44.6) | 6.0 | 37.1 | 9.2 | 47.7 | |
| 50+ | 91 (1.6) | 7.7 | 29.7 | 9.9 | 52.7 | |
|
| ||||||
| Seen at community-based outpatient clinic within 1 year before/after cancer diagnosis | 0.003 | |||||
|
| ||||||
| No | 3,708 (66.0) | 6.2 | 37.8 | 9.3 | 46.7 | |
| Yes | 1,908 (34.0) | 4.3 | 36.3 | 8.7 | 50.7 | |
|
| ||||||
| Academic affiliationa | 0.30 | |||||
|
| ||||||
| No | 152 (2.8) | 7.2 | 34.9 | 12.5 | 45.4 | |
| Yes | 5,278 (97.2) | 5.3 | 37.3 | 8.9 | 48.5 | |
|
| ||||||
| Availability of urologists | <0.001 | |||||
|
| ||||||
| No | 263 (4.7) | 8.0 | 33.4 | 11.8 | 46.8 | |
| Urologists but no urology residents | 1,566 (27.9) | 5.6 | 42.2 | 12.9 | 39.3 | |
| Urologists and urology residents | 3,787 (67.4) | 5.4 | 35.6 | 7.3 | 51.7 | |
|
| ||||||
| Availability of radiation oncologists | <0.001 | |||||
|
| ||||||
| No | 2,486 (44.3) | 7.2 | 38.6 | 10.4 | 43.8 | |
| Yes | 3,130 (55.7) | 4.3 | 36.3 | 8.0 | 51.4 | |
|
| ||||||
| Year of cancer diagnosis | <0.001 | |||||
|
| ||||||
| 2003 | 839 (14.9) | 6.6 | 41.3 | 11.0 | 41.1 | |
| 2004 | 998 (17.8) | 6.4 | 39.3 | 12.0 | 42.3 | |
| 2005 | 870 (15.5) | 4.7 | 38.2 | 9.5 | 47.6 | |
| 2006 | 923 (16.4) | 3.8 | 40.2 | 9.0 | 47.0 | |
| 2007 | 1,034 (18.4) | 5.1 | 33.8 | 8.6 | 52.5 | |
| 2008 | 952 (17.0) | 6.7 | 32.1 | 4.4 | 56.8 | |
Missing values: race, 21; marital status, 47; college education, 185; VA distance, 2; academic affiliation, 186.
States comprising census regions. Midwest: IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI; Northeast: CT, MA, ME, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT; South: AR, AL, D.C., DE, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV; West: AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY.
Clinical tumor stage definitions: 1C, tumor identified by needle biopsy (e.g., because of elevated PSA); 2, tumor confined within prostate; 2A, tumor involves one half of one lobe or less; 2B, tumor involves more than one half of one lobe but not both lobes; 2C, tumor involves both lobes
PADT, primary androgen deprivation; PSA, prostate-specific antigen; VA, Veterans Affairs.