This application is to provide support for the Central Statistical Office (CSO) of the Cooperative Clinical Trials of the National Prostatic Cancer Project. Data from 7 different protocol studies currently accruing patients from 17 treatment centers covering nearly all stages of prostate cancer, as well as follow-up data from 10 studies closed to patient entry are submitted, processed, analysed, and reported by the CSO. This program of Clinical Trials in prostate cancer is designed to evaluate treatment modalities for all stages of the disease. These treatments include surgery and radiotherapy for early disease either alone or augmented with adjuvant chemotherapy. For more advanced disease, chemotherapeutic agents alone or in combination with other antineoplastic agents or hormones are evaluated either as the first modality in metastatic disease, in patients already stablized by hormones, or in patients that have failed hormone therapy. Patient records received by the CSO are reviewed, computerized, edited, corrected and subjected to periodic analysis and evaluation by appropriate statistical techniques, both parametric and non-parametric, to identify the most effective therapy(ies) for different stages and subgroups of the disease to improve survival in the advanced stages and to cure patents with localized disease.
