Temporal changes in cause‐specific death in men with localised prostate cancer treated with radical prostatectomy: a population‐based, nationwide study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Changes in diagnostic work‐up, histopathological assessment, and treatment of men with prostate cancer during the last 20 years have affected the prognosis. The objective was to investigate the risk of prostate cancer death in men with clinically localised prostate cancer treated with radical prostatectomy in Sweden in 2000–2010. METHODS: Population‐based, nationwide, study on men with clinically localised prostate cancer treated with radical prostatectomy in the period 2000–2010. Cox regression analyses were used to assess differences in risk of prostate cancer death according to calendar period for diagnosis and stratified on risk category. RESULTS: The study included 19 330 men with a median follow‐up of 12.4 years. Men diagnosed in 2007–2008 and 2009–2010 had a significantly lower risk of prostate cancer death compared to men diagnosed in 2000–2002. The reduced risk of prostate cancer death was restricted to men with intermediate‐risk prostate cancer with no differences observed in men with low‐ or high‐risk prostate cancer. CONCLUSION: During the study period, the risk of prostate cancer death decreased in the total population of men with localised prostate cancer treated with radical prostatectomy. The decrease was restricted to men with intermediate‐risk prostate cancer.