ANAHEIM, CA (UroToday.com) - (ABST#1148 Prostate Cancer Basic Research V) - “PELVIC LYMPH NODE DISSECTION DOES NOT IMPROVE BIOCHEMICAL RELAPSE FREE SURVIVAL AT 10 YEARS IN PATIENTS WITH LOW RISK PROSTATE CANCER” was presented by Christopher J Weight, MD, Alwyn M Reuther, MPH, and Eric A Klein, MD from the Cleveland Clinic. They compared the long term differences in the actuarial biochemical relapse-free survival rates from a contemporary series of patients who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP) with and without pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND). The records of 806 consecutive RP cases performed between 1995 and 1999 were reviewed. A subset of 336 patients with low risk prostate cancer who did not receive adjuvant or neoadjuvant therapy were stratified into two groups, those who underwent a PLND (n = 140) or those who did not (n = 196). A Cox proportional hazards model was used to analyze the effect of age, race, family history, initial prostate-specific antigen level, tumor stage, biopsy Gleason score, PLND, extracapsular extension, and seminal vesicle invasion on the likelihood of biochemical failure. Biochemical relapse-free survival for each group was estimated by Kaplan-Meier analysis. The median PSA follow-up time for the entire group was 89.0 months, with a similar follow-up for both cohorts (PLND 94.5 months and no-PLND 88 months). Follow-up information was obtained. The long term biochemical relapse-free rate for the entire cohort was 86.1% at 10 years. The 10-year actuarial biochemical relapse-free rates for the PLND versus no PLND groups were 83.8% and 87.9% respectively. On univariate analysis, PLND was not an independent predictor of outcome. They conclude that the omission of PLND in patients with favorable tumor characteristics does not adversely affect long term biochemical relapse rates.

UroToday.com Full Conference Reports

Written by Christopher P. Evans, MD, a Contributing Editor with UroToday.

Please log-in or register in order to submit comments.

Powered by AkoComment!