Salvage radical prostatectomy (sRP) yields poor functional outcomes and relatively high complication rates. Gleason score (GS) 6 prostate cancer (PCa) has genetic and clinical features showing little, if not absent, metastatic potential. However, the behavior of GS 6 PCa recurring after previous PCa treatment including radiotherapy and/or ablation has not been investigated.
To evaluate the oncological outcomes of sRP for radio- and/or ablation-recurrent GS 6 PCa.
Retrospective data of sRP for recurrent PCa after local nonsurgical treatment were collected from 14 tertiary referral centers from 2000 to 2021.
Prostate biopsy before sRP and sRP.
A survival analysis was performed for pre-sRP biopsy and sRP-proven GS 6. Concordance between PCa at pre-sRP biopsy and sRP histology was assessed.
We included GS 6 recurrent PCa at pre-sRP biopsy (n = 142) and at sRP (n = 50), as two cohorts. The majority had primary radiotherapy and/or brachytherapy (83.8% of GS 6 patients at pre-sRP biopsy; 78% of GS 6 patients at sRP) and whole-gland treatments (91% biopsy; 85.1% sRP). Biopsy GS 6 10-yr metastasis, cancer-specific survival (CSS), and overall survival (OS) were 79% (95% confidence interval [CI] 61-89%), 98% (95-99%), and 89% (78-95%), respectively. Upgrading at sRP was 69%, 35.5% had a pT3 stage, and 13.4% had positive nodes. The sRP GS 6 10-yr metastasis-free survival, CSS, and OS were 100%, 100%, and 90% (95% CI 58-98%) respectively; pT3 and pN1 disease were found in 12% and 0%, respectively. Overall complications, high-grade complications, and severe incontinence were experienced by >50%, >10%, and >15% of men, respectively (in both the biopsy and the sRP cohorts). Limitations include the retrospective nature of the study and absence of a centralized pathological review.
GS 6 sRP-proven PCa recurring after nonsurgical primary treatment has almost no metastatic potential, while patients experience relevant morbidity of the procedure. However, a significant proportion of GS 6 cases at pre-sRP biopsy are upgraded at sRP. In the idea not to overtreat, efforts should be made to improve the diagnostic accuracy of pre-sRP biopsy.
We investigated the oncological results of salvage radical prostatectomy for recurrent prostate cancer of Gleason score (GS) 6 category. We found a very low malignant potential of GS 6 confirmed at salvage radical prostatectomy despite surgical complications being relatively high. Nonetheless, biopsy GS 6 was frequently upgraded and had less optimal oncological control. Overtreatment for recurrent GS 6 after nonsurgical first-line treatment should be avoided, and efforts should be made to increase the diagnostic accuracy of biopsies for recurrent disease.
European urology focus. 2023 Sep 11 [Epub ahead of print]
Giancarlo Marra, Giorgio Calleris, Francesca Conte, Nicole Benfant, Pawel Rajwa, Mohamed Ahmed, Andre Abreu, Giovanni Cacciamani, Joseph A Smith, Steven Joniau, Lara Rodriguez-Sanchez, Rafael Sanchez-Salas, Paul Cathcart, Inderbir Gill, Robert Jeffrey Karnes, Derya Tilki, Shahrokh F Shariat, Karim Touijer, Paolo Gontero
Department of Surgical Sciences and Urology Clinic, University of Turin and Città della Salute e della Scienza, Turin, Italy., Department of Surgical Sciences and Urology Clinic, University of Turin and Città della Salute e della Scienza, Turin, Italy. Electronic address: ., Urology Service, Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA., Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria., Department of Urology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA., USC Institute of Urology & The Catherine and Joseph Aresty Department of Urology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA., Department of Urologic Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA., Department of Urology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium., Department of Urology, Institut Mutualiste Montsouris and Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France., Urology Centre, Guy's Hospital, London, UK., Martini-Klinik Prostate Cancer Center, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; Department of Urology, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; Department of Urology, Koc University Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey., Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Departments of Urology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA; Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, Texas, USA; Research Center for Evidence-Based Medicine, Iranian EBM Center: A Joanna Briggs Institute Center of Excellence, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran; Division of Urology, Department of Special Surgery, Jordan University Hospital, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.