IMPORTANCE The optimal management strategy for high-risk prostate cancer and additional adverse clinicopathologic features remains unknown. OBJECTIVE To compare clinical outcomes among patients with high-risk prostate cancer after definitive treatment. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This retrospective cohort study included patients with high-risk prostate cancer (as defined by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network [NCCN]) and at least 1 adverse clinicopathologic feature (defined as any primary Gleason pattern 5 on biopsy, clinical T3b-4 disease, Ն50% cores with biopsy results positive for prostate cancer, or NCCN Ն2 high-risk features) treated between 2000 and 2014 at 16 tertiary centers. Data were analyzed in November 2020.EXPOSURES Radical prostatectomy (RP), external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), or EBRT plus brachytherapy boost (BT) with ADT. Guideline-concordant multimodal treatment was defined as RP with appropriate use of multimodal therapy (optimal RP), EBRT with at least 2 years of ADT (optimal EBRT), or EBRT with BT with at least 1 year ADT (optimal EBRT with BT).
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESThe primary outcome was prostate cancer-specific mortality; distant metastasis was a secondary outcome. Differences were evaluated using inverse probability of treatment weight-adjusted Fine-Gray competing risk regression models. RESULTS A total of 6004 men (median [interquartile range] age, 66.4 [60.9-71.8] years) with highrisk prostate cancer were analyzed, including 3175 patients (52.9%) who underwent RP, 1830 patients (30.5%) who underwent EBRT alone, and 999 patients (16.6%) who underwent EBRT with BT. Compared with RP, treatment with EBRT with BT (subdistribution hazard ratio [sHR] 0.78, [95%CI, 0.63-0.97]; P = .03) or with EBRT alone (sHR, 0.70 [95% CI, 0.53-0.92]; P = .01) was associated with significantly improved prostate cancer-specific mortality; there was no difference in prostate cancer-specific mortality between EBRT with BT and EBRT alone (sHR, 0.89 [95% CI, 0.67-1.18]; P = .43). No significant differences in prostate cancer-specific mortality were found across treatment cohorts among 2940 patients who received guideline-concordant multimodality treatment (eg, (continued) Key Points Question Are external beam radiotherapy, with or without brachytherapy boost, or radical prostatectomy associated with differences in prostate cancer-specific mortality or distant metastasis outcomes in patients with high-risk prostate cancer after accounting for delivery of guideline-concordant multimodality therapy? Findings In this cohort study of 6004 men with high-risk prostate cancer and at least 1 additional adverse clinicopathologic feature, no differences in prostate cancer-specific mortality across treatment modalities were identified among patients who received guideline-concordant multimodality therapy, although differences in time to metastasis were observed. However, significant differences in prostate cancer-specific mortality were identified when guideline-concordan...