KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The study aimed to investigate the mortality trends and age-specific risks in patients with prostate cancer.
- Researchers noticed that prostate cancer deaths in NRW are rising with age but not increasing in age-specific risk; further investigation is ongoing.
Prostate cancer mortality rates in Germany exceed the international average, although age-standardized mortality and years of life lost per capita are decreasing. This study examines mortality-related measures specific to North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).
Kevin Claaßen and the team aimed to assess the trends in prostate cancer mortality in NRW, focusing on changes in age-specific risks and the impact of demographic aging on mortality rates.
They performed an inclusive analysis using cause-of-death statistics and data from the NRW State Cancer Registry, covering 45,300 deaths from 2007 to 2021. Mortality rates, lifetime mortality risk from prostate cancer, median age at death, and years of life lost were calculated. Additionally, the study reported the 15 most frequent causes of death among 95,013 patients diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The study reveals that with a stable lifetime mortality risk from prostate cancer, age-standardized mortality and years of life lost per capita are decreasing, while crude mortality and median age at death are increasing in NRW. Less than half of the patients die from their prostate cancer. Additionally, cancers of the urinary bladder and other urinary organs occur more frequently as a cause of death than would be expected based on the age-specific risk in the total population.
The study concluded that the rise in prostate cancer deaths in NRW is primarily due to demographic aging, with no increase in age-specific mortality risk and deaths occurring at progressively older ages. Additionally, a significant association with lower urinary tract cancers in patients diagnosed with prostate cancer was identified, warranting further investigation.
The study received no funds.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39192311/
Claaßen K, Karpinski M, Kajüter H, et al. Mortality from prostate cancer in the years 2007-2021 in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. BMC Urol. 2024;24(1):181. Published 2024 Aug 27. doi:10.1186/s12894-024-01564-y
