Table 1.
Individual-, physician- and institution-level characteristics according to treatment groupsa
| Expectant therapy (n=13 872) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||
| Variables |
Total (n=45 691) n (%) |
Active surveillance (n=8079) n (%) |
Watchful waiting (n=4570) n (%) |
Delayed treatment (n=1223) n(%) |
Definitive treatment (n=31 819) n (%) |
| Individual-level characteristics | |||||
|
| |||||
| Year of diagnosis | |||||
| 2002–2004 | 12 554 (28) | 1637 (28) | 1204 (26) | 396 (32) | 9713 (29.3) |
| 2005–2007 | 15 937 (25) | 2917 (33) | 1497 (33) | 430 (35) | 11 093 (34.9) |
| 2008–2010 | 17200 (38) | 3525 (39) | 1869 (41) | 397 (33) | 11 409 (35.9) |
| Age group (years old) | |||||
| Less or equal to 55 | 6148 (14) | 948 (12) | 343 (8) | 120 (10) | 4737 (14.9) |
| 56–65 | 19 430 (43) | 3369 (42) | 1337 (29) | 472 (39) | 14 252 (44.8) |
| 66–75 | 20 113 (44) | 3762 (47) | 2890 (63) | 631 (52) | 12 830 (40.3) |
| Diagnostic procedure | |||||
| Biopsy | 43 670 (96) | 7975 (99) | 3232 (71) | 1084 (89) | 31 379 (71.9) |
| TURP | 2021 (4) | 104 (1) | 1338 (29) | 139 (11) | 440 (21.8) |
| ADG score, median (IQR) | 16 (7–22) | 16 (7–23) | 17 (9–26) | 17 (8–23) | 15 (7–22) |
| Survival status | |||||
| Alive | 42 592 (93) | 7746 (96) | 3982 (87) | 1127 (92) | 29 737 (94) |
| Died | 3099 (7) | 333 (4) | 588 (13) | 96 (8) | 2082 (7) |
| Prostate cancer death | 396 (0.9) | 13 (0.2) | 45 (1) | 15 (1) | 323 (1) |
| Income quintile | |||||
| First (lowest) | 6428 (14) | 1061 (13) | 778 (17) | 189 (16) | 4400 (14) |
| Second | 8408 (18) | 1442 (18) | 923 (20) | 238 (20) | 5805 (18) |
| Third | 8974 (20) | 1485 (18) | 893 (20) | 244 (20) | 6352 (20) |
| Fourth | 9937 (22) | 1734 (22) | 928 (20) | 247 (20) | 7028 (22) |
| Fifth (highest) | 11 791 (26) | 2327 (29) | 1025 (22) | 302 (25) | 8137 (26) |
| Rural | |||||
| Yes | 6653 (15) | 817 (10) | 709 (16) | 211 (17) | 4916 (16) |
| No | 39 003 (85) | 7257 (90) | 3857 (84) | 1012 (83) | 26 877 (85) |
|
| |||||
| Physician-level characteristics | |||||
|
| |||||
| Type of primary physician | |||||
| Urologist | 30 552 (67) | 5323 (66) | 3866 (85) | 1030 (84) | 20 333 (64) |
| Radiation oncologist | 14 986 (33) | 2705 (34) | 627 (14) | 190 (16) | 11 464 (36) |
| Physician volume per year | |||||
| 1st quartile (lowest) | 11 278 (25) | 1799 (22) | 1724 (38) | 450 (37) | 7305 (23) |
| 2nd quartile | 11 327 (25) | 1794 (22) | 1323 (29) | 358 (30) | 7852 (25) |
| 3rd quartile | 11 152 (24) | 1807 (22) | 813 (18) | 215 (18) | 8317 (26) |
| 4th quartile (highest) | 11 781 (26) | 2628 (33) | 633 (14) | 197 (16) | 8323 (26) |
|
| |||||
| Institution-level characteristics | |||||
|
| |||||
| Institution volume per year | |||||
| 1st quartile (lowest) | 10 954 (24) | 1522 (19) | 1389 (30) | 380 (31) | 7663 (24) |
| 2nd quartile | 10 824 (24) | 1676 (21) | 1390 (30) | 297 (24) | 7561 (24) |
| 3rd quartile | 11 315 (25) | 1490 (18) | 892 (20) | 285 (23) | 8648 (27) |
| 4th quartile (highest) | 11 497 (25) | 2952 (37) | 503 (11) | 192 (16) | 7850 (25) |
| Type of centre | |||||
| Non-cancer centre | 19 444 (43) | 3147 (39) | 2340 (51) | 636 (52) | 13 321 (42) |
| Cancer centre | 25 151 (55) | 4493 (56) | 1735 (38) | 518 (42) | 18 405 (58) |
a
All adjusted p values were significant (p<0.001) when the active surveillance group was compared to the watchful waiting group, to the delayed treatment group, and to the definitive treatment group, with the exception of the type of centre variable comparison between the AS group and the definitive treatment group (p=0.2). ADG: Aggregated Diagnosis Groups; IQR: interquartile range; TURP: transurethral resection of the prostate.