Background and objective: We intended to assess the impact of age on radiation outcome in patients treated for prostate cancer with 2D planning radiation therapy in clinical practice at the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona Radiation Oncology Department.
Patients and method: One hundred eighty three patients, treated from November 1993 to April 1999, were included. Median follow-up was 41.8 months and median age was 70 years old. Median dose to prostate was 70 Gy. Univariate (Kaplan-Meier with log rank test comparison) and multivariate analysis (Cox's regression models) were done to assess the effect of age on toxicity and to study prognostic factors for disease control, survival and radiation treatment toxicity.
Results: Five years disease free survival probability was 61.94%, with an overall survival probability of 82.83%. Although comorbidity increased significantly with age, reduced overall survival by a factor of 0.4, from 94.85% to 78.55% at 5 years. No differences were seen with regard to age in acute or late toxicity. Five years toxicity free probability was 66.46%.
Conclusions: Comorbidities decrease life expectancy in prostate cancer patients treated with radiation. Age does not necessarily suppose an increased risk of late toxicity for selected patients.