Background:
Prostate cancer is primarily a cancer of the ageing male population. However, 15-20% of new diagnoses occur in men younger than 60 years. There is conflicting research on whether YPC patients have unique clinicopathological features, and the possible impact younger age may have on disease course and survival. The aim of this study was to describe outcomes for YPC patients.
Methods:
We performed a retrospective analysis of YPC patients’ (aged <60 years) treated at the Nepean Cancer and Wellness Centre between 2019-2025. Outcomes included Gleason score (GS) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) at diagnosis, family history, rates of and progression to castration-resistance and metastatic disease and overall survival (OS). Clinicopathological features were reported with descriptive analyses. Comparisons between YPC <50 years, 50-54 years and 55-59 years were performed. Statistical significance (p= <0.05) was assessed using One way ANOVA and Chi-square testing.
Results:
We identified 140 YPC patients. At diagnosis, 6% (n=8) were < 50 years, 31% (n=44) were 50-54 years and 63% (n=88) were 55-59 years. GS at diagnosis was <8 for 57% (n=70) and ≥8 for 43% (n=52). Median PSA at diagnosis was 7.7 ng/mL. There was family history of cancer in 18% (n=25) of patients. Castration-resistance developed in 24% of patients (n=33) at a median time of 28 months. De-novo metastatic disease occurred in 13% of patients (n=18) and 24% (n=34) developed metastatic disease at a median time of 81 months. The 10-year OS was 90%. There were no statistically significant differences between age cohorts.
Conclusions:
This study provides insight into the clinicopathological features for YPC patients. Our findings show that YPC patients, regardless of age within the cohort, exhibit a similar disease course. Further studies with longer follow-up are required to explore the impact younger age at diagnosis has on long-term progression, treatment response and survival.