Medical hospitalizations in prostate cancer survivors

Abstract

The objectives of the study were to explore the context and reasons for medical hospitalizations among prostate cancer survivors and to study their relationship with obesity and the type of prostate cancer treatment. A retrospective review of medical records was performed at an academic institution for male patients aged 40 years and older who were diagnosed and/or treated for prostate cancer 2 years prior to the study’s observation period from January 2008 to December 2010. Unpaired t test, ANOVA, and Chi-square tests were used to compare patients’ characteristics, admission types, and medical comorbidities by body mass index (BMI) and prostate cancer treatment. Mean age for the study population was 76 years (SD = 9.2). Two hundred and forty-five prostate cancer survivors were stratified into two groups: non-obese (BMI < 30 kg/m²) and obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m²). The study population’s characteristics analyzed by BMI were similar including Gleason score, presence of metastatic disease and genitourinary-related side effects. Only 13 % of admissions were for complaints related to their genitourinary system. Neither the specific treatment that the patients had received for their prostate cancer, nor obesity was associated with the reasons for their medical admission. Survivorship after having a diagnosis of prostate cancer is often lengthy, and these men are at risk of being hospitalized, as they get older. From this inquiry, it has become clear that neither body mass index nor prior therapy is associated with specific admission characteristics, and only a minority of such admissions was directly related to prostate cancer or the genitourinary tract.