Where Prostate Cancer Spreads In the Body Affects Survival Time

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EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE until 4 p.m. (ET) on Monday, March 7, 2016
DURHAM, N.C. -- Patients with lymph-only metastasis have the longest overall survival, while those with liver involvement fare worst. Lung and bone metastasis fall in the middle.
“Smaller studies had given doctors and patients indications that the site of metastasis in prostate cancer affects survival, but prevalence rates in organ sites were small, so it was difficult to provide good guidance,” said Susan Halabi, Ph.D., professor of biostatistics at Duke and lead author of the study published online March 7 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
“With the large numbers we analyzed in our study, we were able to compare all of these different sites and provide information that could be helpful in conveying prognosis to patients,” Halabi said. “This information could also be used to help guide treatment approaches using either hormonal therapy or chemotherapy.” 
Halabi and colleagues from leading U.S. and international cancer research centers pulled data from nine large, phase III clinical trials to analyze outcomes of 8,736 men with metastatic prostate cancer. The patients had all undergone standard treatment with the chemotherapy drug docetaxel. 
Site of metastases was categorized into four groups: lung, liver (without lung), lymph nodes only, bone with or without lymph nodes and no other organ metastases...

Source: DukeHealth.org: Duke Health Features - March 8, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Tags: Duke Medicine Source Type: news