Pathological T0 (pT0) prostate cancer following radical prostatectomy is uncommon, and its prognostic significance remains unclear, particularly after neoadjuvant hormonal therapy (NHT). We investigated the incidence of pT0 disease in a multicenter Japanese cohort and described postoperative biochemical recurrence (BCR) outcomes.
This retrospective study analyzed 3079 patients who underwent robot-assisted radical prostatectomy at nine Japanese centers between 2011 and 2021. Patients were classified as having pT0 or non-pT0 disease. Because only four pT0 cases occurred without NHT, these are summarized descriptively. Exploratory Kaplan-Meier and log-rank analyses of biochemical recurrence-free survival (BRFS) were performed for the NHT subgroup.
Twenty-seven pT0 cases (0.9%) were identified, and 85.2% were identified after NHT. Overall, 399 patients (13.0%) developed BCR. Among patients who did not undergo NHT, the 1- and 2-year BRFS rates were 100% and 100%, respectively, in the pT0 group and 92.4% and 88.1%, respectively, in the non-pT0 group. In the NHT subgroup, the corresponding rates were 92.9% and 92.7%, versus 91.8% and 85.5%, respectively (p = 0.651).
pT0 disease after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy is rare and occurs predominantly after NHT. Given the possibility that late-onset recurrences may have been overlooked, the results of this trial should be understood as providing evidence from the short- to intermediate-term perspective.
Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.). 2026 May 22*** epublish ***
Risa Tomioka-Inagawa, Masayuki Tomioka, Tomoyuki Tatenuma, Takeshi Sasaki, Yoshinori Ikehata, Akinori Nakayama, Masahiro Toide, Tatsuaki Yoneda, Kazushige Sakaguchi, Kazuhide Makiyama, Takahiro Inoue, Hiroshi Kitamura, Kazutaka Saito, Fumitaka Koga, Shinji Urakami, Takuya Koie
Department of Urology, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu 501-1194, Japan., Department of Urology, Yokohama City University, Yokohama 236-0004, Japan., Department of Nephro-Urologic Surgery and Andrology, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine, Tsu 514-8507, Japan., Department of Urology, University of Toyama, Toyama 930-0194, Japan., Department of Urology, Dokkyo Medical University Saitama Medical Center, Koshigaya 343-8555, Japan., Department of Urology, Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious Diseases Center Komagome Hospital, Tokyo 113-8677, Japan., Department of Urology, Seirei Hamamatsu General Hospital, Hamamatsu 430-8558, Japan., Department of Urology, Toranomon Hospital, Tokyo 105-8470, Japan.