Re: Comparative effectiveness of radical prostatectomy and radiotherapy in prostate cancer: observational study of mortality outcomes
The authors of the above study should be commended on an excellent retrospective analysis of the large PCBaSe Sweden dataset. Specifically, they have employed sophisticated statistical methods (propensity score reweighted and sensitivity analyses) to attempt to reduce bias from confounding variables in this observational study.
The conclusions - that surgery leads to better survival than does radiotherapy, particularly in younger healthier patients with intermediate/high-risk organ-confined disease - are potentially very interesting, although must be interpreted with caution in the context of retrospective analyses.
We await, with huge anticipation, the results of the prospective randomised UK-based ProtecT study comparing these treatment modalities.
Rapid Response:
Re: Comparative effectiveness of radical prostatectomy and radiotherapy in prostate cancer: observational study of mortality outcomes
The authors of the above study should be commended on an excellent retrospective analysis of the large PCBaSe Sweden dataset. Specifically, they have employed sophisticated statistical methods (propensity score reweighted and sensitivity analyses) to attempt to reduce bias from confounding variables in this observational study.
The conclusions - that surgery leads to better survival than does radiotherapy, particularly in younger healthier patients with intermediate/high-risk organ-confined disease - are potentially very interesting, although must be interpreted with caution in the context of retrospective analyses.
We await, with huge anticipation, the results of the prospective randomised UK-based ProtecT study comparing these treatment modalities.
Competing interests: No competing interests