The value of bone scans to predict survival time in patients with diagnosed prostate cancer: single-center retrospective study

Abstract

Objective: In this study, we investigated the significance of the bone scan results as a prognostic factor to predict survival by comparing age, serum PSA level, and Gleason score. Methods: Medical records of 313 patients were retrospectively examined. 265 patients of 313 were included in the study. Results: 202 (76%) patients of 265 were still alive and 63 (24%) patients of 265 were dead because of prostate cancer. Patients’ mean estimated survival times for those with, without, and suspected bone metastases were 47.4 ± 5.4 months, 159.1 ± 8.6 months, and 71.1 ± 14.4 months, respectively (p = 0.0001). While the mean estimated survival time of < 70 years patients old was 137.1 ± 9.4 months, the mean estimated survival time of ≥ 70 years old patients was 78.2 ± 5.0 (p = 0.031). 243 patients with known PSA values, of those whose PSA levels were < 10 ng/ml, between 10-20 ng/ml, between > 20-50 ng/ml, and > 50 ng/ml, the estimated mean survival time was 106.9 ± 4.2 months, 118.1 ± 14.8 months, 87.6 ± 7.4 months and 51.7 ± 6.2 month, respectively and a significant difference was determined (p = 0.0001). For patients whose Gleason scores were < 7, 7, and >7, the mean estimated survival time was 167.5 ± 10.8 months), 86.8 ± 5.5 months, and 61.0 ± 5.4 months, respectively, and a significant difference was determined (p = 0.0001). Conclusion: We identified that the estimated mean survival time of the patients who had bone metastases, had a high level of PSA, had a high level of Gleason score, and were older than 70 years old was shorter than other groups. We concluded the most important prognostic factor affecting survival time independently was the finding of metastasis detected in bone scintigraphy.