Prostate cancer stage at diagnosis: First data from a Middle-Eastern cohort.

Abstract

e552 Background: Current data suggest that prostate cancer incidence is increasing in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region however remains significantly lower than the United States and Europe. No data are available regarding stage at diagnosis or treatment. SEER data from the US suggest that only 4% of patients present with metastatic disease. We hypothesized that rates of presentation with stage 4 disease are significantly higher in the MENA region. Methods: After IRB approval, a review of prostate cancer cases presenting to the leading tertiary referral center in Lebanon from January 2010 to July 2015 was undertaken. From September 2014 these data were collected prospectively. The American University of Beirut Medical Center sees approximately one third of all cancer cases in the country and is a major referral center for Syria and Iraq. Results: 582 cases were identified, median age at diagnosis was 68 (range 43-97); median PSA at diagnosis was 10.2ng/ml (range 2.3 – 3490), median Gleason score was 7. 480 patients had staging data available; 77.4% (449) presented with organ-confined disease, 22.6% (136) presented with stage 4 disease at diagnosis. 12% of this cohort were from Iraq, 57.6% presenting with stage 4 disease. Increasing age correlated with higher stage at presentation in this cohort. In patients presenting with PSA > 20, 62.3% were found to have stage 4 disease. Conclusions: This is the first report of prostate cancer stage at diagnosis from a large cohort of patients from the Middle East showing a median age at diagnosis of 68 and 22.6% presenting with stage 4 disease. These data highlight the importance of multi-disciplinary management and health-care system planning for the rising burden of prostate cancer affecting the MENA population.