Prostate cancer trends in Latvia during 1990–2012: Incidence, prevalence, mortality, and survival rates

Background and objective: Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common form of cancer in males worldwide. One of the highest PCa-related mortality rates in the world is observed in Latvia.
Materials and methods: Our study included male patients diagnosed with PCa between 1990 and 2012. We analyzed incidence, prevalence and mortality trends using joinpoint analysis. Kaplan–Meier analysis was performed for 5-, 10-, 15- and 20-year overall survival and cancer-specific survival rates.
Results: A total of 14,083 PCa patients with a mean age of initial PCa diagnosis being 70.1 (SD 8.6) was registered. The standardized incidence rates (per 100,000) increased from 18.9 in 1990 to 74.7 in 2012, while the standardized prevalence rates (per 100,000) increased from 69.9 in 1990 to 437.6 in 2012. Standardized PCa mortality rates (per 100,000) also rose from 13.2 in 1990 to 27.2 in 2006 followed by statistically insignificant decrease continuing up to 2012. The mean 5-year cancer-specific survival rates increased from 43.6% in 1990 to 70.7% in 2007, and the mean 10-year cancer-specific survival rates from 32.9% in 1990 to 40.5% in 2001.
Conclusions: This study revealed that the incidence, prevalence and mortality rates increased between 1990 and 2012, and although the 5- and 10-year overall and cancer-specific survival rates improved over the reviewed period they still needed to get better.