Pre-radiotherapy PSA progression is a negative prognostic factor in prostate cancer patients using 5‑alpha-reductase inhibitors.

To investigate the impact of 5‑alpha-reductase inhibitor (5-ARI) use on radiotherapy outcomes for localized prostate cancer.

We included 203 patients on a 5-ARI from our institutional database comprising over 2500 patients who had been treated with either external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) or brachytherapy for localized prostate cancer. Patients received a 5-ARI for urinary symptoms or active surveillance. Cancer progressions at the time of definitive treatment were analyzed according to the following criteria: (a) progression of Gleason score or increase in cancer volume on biopsy, (b) first biopsy positive for cancer after being treated for urinary symptoms with a 5-ARI, and (c) prostate-specific antigen (PSA) progression with or without a previous cancer diagnosis. Biochemical failure (BF) was defined by the Phoenix definition. Log-rank test was used for survival analysis.

At a median follow-up of 38.2 months (standard deviation 22.2 months), 10 (4.9%) patients experienced BF. Concerning prostate cancer progression criteria, 52% of men demonstrated none, 37% showed only one criterion, and 11% showed two. Using univariate analysis, PSA progression (p = 0.004) and appearance of a positive biopsy (p < 0.001) were significant predictive factors for BF, while Gleason progression (p = 0.3) was not. In multivariate analysis adjusted for cancer aggressiveness, rising PSA (hazard ratio, HR, 5.7; 95% confidence interval, CI, 1.1-28.8; p = 0.04) and the number of cancer progression factors (HR 2.9, 95% CI 1.2-7.0, p = 0.02) remained adverse risk factors.

PSA progression experienced during 5‑ARI treatment before radiotherapy is predictive of worse biochemical outcome. Such details should be considered when counseling men prior to radiation therapy.

Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al]. 2017 Jul 10 [Epub ahead of print]

Daniel Taussky, Julie Piotte, Kevin C Zorn, Marc Zanaty, Vimal Krishnan, Carole Lambert, Jean-Paul Bahary, Marie-Claude Beauchemin, Maroie Barkati, Cynthia Ménard, Guila Delouya

Department of Radiation Oncology, Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Hôpital Notre-Dame, 1560 Sherbrooke St. E., H2L 4M1, Montréal, QC, Canada. ., Department of Radiation Oncology, Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Hôpital Notre-Dame, 1560 Sherbrooke St. E., H2L 4M1, Montréal, QC, Canada., Section of Urology, Department of Surgery, Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada., Department of Pathology, Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal and Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.