Prostate Cancer: Risk Factors and Outcome Indicators

Abstract

Background: Prostate cancer, which is the second most frequent cancer diagnosis made in men, more commonly occurs in the elderly. This disease is often diagnosed late in resource-limited settings, which results in people having advanced forms of the disease and a poor prognosis. This study aimed to identify factors indicative of prostate cancer aggressivity and a poor prognosis in patients with prostate cancer at a single center in Douala, Cameroon. Methods: We performed a retrospective study from 2015 to 2020 at the Centre medico-chirugical d’urologie in Douala, Cameroon, in which we included 203 patients aged 41 years to 85 years who had prostate cancer diagnosed via histopathology after either prostate biopsyor laparoscopic prostatectomy. Epi-info 7 was used for data analysis and logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with prostate cancer aggressivity and patients’ outcomes (survival or mortality). Results: The mean age of our study participants was 64.76 ± 7.48 years. Ten patients had a contributive family history of prostate cancer. The patients presented with lower urinary tract symptoms in 61.58% of cases. All patients had serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels of >4 ng/ml, 100 patients were anemic, and 36 patients had aggressive forms of the disease. Eighty-eight patients had remarkable digital rectal examination (DRE) findings. The median prostate volume, as determined via transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS), was 59 [43 - 80] ml. Fifty-nine patients had abnormal prostate echostructures, and 33 patients died during follow-up. The presence of paraplegia and the practice of professions requiring unskilled labor were significantly associated with aggressive prostate cancer. The presence of lymphoedema, abnormal DRE findings, anemia, enlarged prostate glands (prostate volume >50 ml), and abnormal prostatic echostructures were significantly associated with both prostate cancer aggressivity and patients’ outcomes. Conclusion: The late diagnosis of prostate cancer is a major public health problem in Cameroon because of the complications and poor prognosis of the disease at an advanced stage. Certain clinical, biological, and imaging factors are associated with prostate cancer aggressivity and a poor prognosis, whose identification could help guide clinicians in making therapeutic choices for their patients.