The Journal of the Louisiana State Medical Society : official organ of the Louisiana State Medical Society
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This study investigated treatment patterns among Louisiana residents diagnosed with clinically localized prostate cancer in 2001 and factors that may be associated with the treatment. The differences in the initial treatment between 1997 and 2001 were also examined. The data were collected from hospital medical records, supplemented by information from freestanding radiation centers and physicians' offices. ⋯ Patients with elevated PSA and high Gleason scores were less likely to receive radical prostatectomy even after the adjustment. From 1997 to 2001, utilization of radiation and hormonal therapies increased, and watchful waiting decreased among newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients. Utilization of radical prostatectomy showed no significant change over time.