The importance of surgical margins in prostate cancer

Positive surgical margins (PSM) after radical prostatectomy (RP) are a predictor of biochemical recurrence (BCR), and highly dependent on surgeon, experience, and skill. The length and location PSMs are important, with significant differences between open and robotic RP.

The impact of PSMs on BCR remains secondary to other clinico-pathologic variables: Gleason Score, pathologic stage, and baseline PSA. However, lower PSM rates are associated with reduced use of secondary interventions and patient anxiety of cancer recurrence. J. Surg. Oncol. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Journal of surgical oncology. 2016 Mar 23 [Epub ahead of print]

Prasanna Sooriakumaran, Harveer S Dev, Douglas Skarecky, Thomas Ahlering

Department of Urology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom., Department of Urology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom., Department of Urology, University of California, Irvine, California., Department of Urology, University of California, Irvine, California.