Histopathologic review of prostate biopsies from patients referred to a comprehensive cancer center : Correlation of pathologic findings, analysis of cost, and impact on treatment
✍ Scribed by James C. Wurzer; Tahseen I. Al-Saleem; Alexandra L. Hanlon; Gary M. Freedman; Arthur Patchefsky; Gerald E. Hanks
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1998
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 108 KB
- Volume
- 83
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0008-543X
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
BACKGROUND.
Clinicians at the Fox Chase Cancer Center (FCCC) base prostate carcinoma treatment decisions regarding need to treat, field size, total dose, and adjuvant hormonal therapy on known prognostic factors including clinical stage, Gleason score (GS), perineural invasion (PNI), and pretreatment prostate specific antigen levels. The pathology of every patient is reviewed at FCCC to confirm a diagnosis of malignancy. The objective of this study was to define differences between pathologic reviews and their impact on treatment between outside institutions and FCCC.
METHODS.
The authors reviewed 538 pathology reports of prostate biopsies performed at both outside pathology departments and FCCC on patients evaluated between January 1993 and December 1996. The outside pathology reviews represented 107 community hospitals, academic institutions, and private pathology laboratories. Patients who had received hormonal therapy, cryosurgery, or radical prostatectomy prior to prostate biopsy were excluded from analysis. Final FCCC pathology determinations were compared with pathology reports from outside institutions. Reports then were analyzed to determine whether differences in interpretation would have resulted in different treatment strategies. Differences in percentages according to institutional type were evaluated using the chi-square statistic. The cost was assessed and cost per change in treatment estimated.