Patients with a pre-existing low risk prostate cancer diagnosis who elected for active surveillance were selected for this study. Patients were recruited from 2007-2017 before they received treatment for their lower urinary tract symptoms. All prostate enucleations occurred at the same institution, and a total of 25 patients participated in this analysis.
The authors found that holmium enucleation remains effective in treating lower urinary tract symptoms and shows little risk of long-term complications like incontinence. Over two-thirds of the men in this study remained on active surveillance for twenty or more months following enucleation (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Graph detailing Prostate Cancer Treatment Free Survival for this study.
Despite these findings, Dr. Gearman made it clear that more studies with more power will be needed moving forward in order to replicate and solidify the authors' findings.
Presented by: Derek J Gearman MD,
Co-Authors: Deepak Agarwal MD, Vidit Sharma MD, and Marcelino Rivera MD
Author Affiliation: Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN USA
Written by: Mitchell O’Leary, Department of Urology, University of California-Irvine) medical writer for UroToday.com at the 36th World Congress of Endourology (WCE) and SWL - September 20-23, 2018 Paris, France