OBJECTIVES - To identify clinical factors associated with prostate cancer (PCA) upgrading to higher patterns of the surgical specimen in low-risk PCA.
MATERIALS AND METHODS - We evaluated the records of 438 patients. The multinomial logistic regression model was used.
RESULTS - Low-risk PCA included 170 cases (38.8%) and tumor upgrading was detected in 111 patients (65.3%) of whom 72 (42.4%) had pathological Gleason patterns (pGP) = 3 + 4 and 39 (22.9%) pGP >3 + 4. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and proportion of positive cores (P+) were independent predictors of tumor upgrading to higher patterns. The main difference between upgraded cancers related to PSA and to P+ >0.20. The population was stratified into risk classes by PSA ≤5 μg/l and P+ ≤0.20 (class A), PSA >5 μg/l and P+ ≤0.20 (class B), PSA ≤5 μg/l and P+ >0.20 (class C) and PSA >5 μg/l and P+ 0.20 (class D). Upgrading rates to pGP >3 + 4 were extremely low in class A (5.1%), extremely high in D (53.8%).
CONLUSIONS - Low-risk PCA is a heterogeneous population with significant rates of undetected high-grade disease. Significant clinical predictors of upgrading to higher patterns include PSA and P+, which identify a very high-risk class that needs repeat biopsies in order to reclassify tumor grade.
Urologia internationalis. 2016 Mar 22 [Epub ahead of print]
Antonio Benito Porcaro, Salvatore Siracusano, Nicolò De Luyk, Paolo Corsi, Marco Sebben, Alessandro Tafuri, Leonardo Bizzotto, Irene Tamanini, Davide Inverardi, Maria Angela Cerruto, Guido Martignoni, Matteo Brunelli, Walter Artibani
Urologic Clinic, University Hospital, Ospedale Policlinico, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata, Verona, Italy.