Family history in primary hormone therapy for prostate cancer: Analysis from a community-based multi-institutional Japan-wide database

Objectives: To determine the association between hormone therapy and outcomes in a cohort of prostate cancer patients with a family history of prostate cancer. Methods: Data of patients with prostate cancer who had received hormone therapy were extracted from a nationwide community-based database established by the Japan Study Group for Prostate Cancer. Family history of prostate cancer was available for 13 346 of these patients, who thus comprised the study cohort. Prognostic variables, including progression-free survival, cancer-specific survival and overall survival, were compared between men with familial and men with sporadic prostate cancer. Results: A positive family history was identified in 220 patients (1.6%). Patients with a positive family history were younger than those without; however, other clinicopathological characteristics and prognoses were comparable. In subgroup analysis, family history was identified as a possible favorable prognostic factor for overall survival among patients with a prostate-specific antigen level at diagnosis <100 ng/mL and those with low or intermediate Japan Cancer of the Prostate Risk Assessment. Conclusions: Our findings show that familial prostate cancer has an early-onset feature or is diagnosed earlier than sporadic prostate cancer. However, the prognosis of individuals with familial prostate cancer undergoing hormone therapy is comparable to those with sporadic prostate cancer.