Impact of comorbidity on treatment and prognosis of prostate cancer patients: a population-based study.

This study investigates the independent influence of serious comorbidity and age on treatment and survival of prostate cancer patients diagnosed between 1995 and 2002 in the southern part of the Netherlands. Eight percent of patients<60 years had two or more concomitant diseases versus 27% of those aged 80 years or older. The number of patients undergoing radical prostatectomy or curative radiotherapy decreased significantly with increasing age. The proportion of patients aged 60-69 years undergoing prostatectomy decreased significantly from 32% of patients without comorbidity to 17% of patients with two or more comorbid conditions and from 8% to 3%, respectively, of those aged 70-79 years. The risk of dying was significantly higher for patients with two or more comorbid conditions compared to patients without comorbidity. Serious comorbidity led to less aggressive treatment and negatively affected the prognosis of prostate cancer patients aged 60-79 years.