Changes in Clinical Characteristics of Patients with an Initial Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer in Korea: 10-Year Trends Reported by a Tertiary Center

BACKGROUND: The Korea Central Cancer Registry reported that incidence rates of prostate cancer have not increased continuously. We used recent trends in the incidence of prostate cancer to generate a preliminary report of the Korean population with prostate cancer. METHODS: Patients initially diagnosed with prostate cancer by prostate biopsy from 2006 to 2015 at our tertiary center were selected. All patients were categorized according to age (< 65, 65–75, > 75 years), time period (2006–2010 vs. 2011–2015), and risk classification. Patients with insufficient data were excluded from the analysis. RESULTS: Of 675 patients (median prostate-specific antigen [PSA], 9.09 ng/mL), those with a Gleason score (GS) of 6 (32.3%) comprised the largest proportion in our cohort. The proportion with a GS of 8 increased for those aged 65–75 years, despite the lack of increase in PSA. Treatment patterns changed for those with very low to low risk cancer. The overall survival (OS) rate and the cancer-specific survival (CSS) rate for all patients at 5 years were 87% and 90%, respectively. Patients with a low body mass index (BMI; ≤ 23 kg/m(2)) had worse median OS and CSS rates. CONCLUSION: Significant differences in risk classifications and initial treatments were found between 2006–2010 and 2011–2015. Although PSA did not change, the GS did change. Lower BMI (≤ 23 kg/m(2)) had worse effects on OS and CSS rates for Korean prostate cancer patients.