Background: The two major therapeutic options for early diagnosed prostate cancer are radical prostatectomy or radiation therapy. The National Program for Prostate Cancer in Norway conducted this study in order to document the use of treatment with curative intention in five geographical regions in Norway.
Material and methods: The study is based on data from the Cancer Registry of Norway on patients diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1998 and 2001. The departments of oncology have provided relevant information about radiation therapy. Treatment with curative intention is defined as radical prostatectomy or radiation therapy with > or = 64 Gy.
Results: About one third of all patients under the age of 75 years with recently diagnosed prostate cancer were treated with curative intention in 1998 and 2001 (1998: 28%, 2001: 33%); the total number increased from 440 in 1998 to 556 in 2001. There were marked variations between the geographical regions in the use of treatment with curative intention and in the use of radical prostatectomy versus radiation therapy.
Interpretation: The fact that no more than one third of the patients were treated with curative intention is probably due to uncertainty about the therapeutic benefit in relation to side effects. The regional variations probably reflect different opinions on the true effect of early diagnosis and treatment.