Men with low-risk prostate cancer who undergo open or robot-assisted radical prostatectomy may have favorable oncological outcomes, according to a prospective study published in BJUI International.1

Researchers led by Stefan Carlsson, PhD, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, identified 338 men from the LAParoscopic Prostatecotmy Robot Open (LAPPRO) trial who underwent radical prostatectomy at one of 14 participating centers and validated questionnaires at baseline as well as after 12 months by independent health care researchers.

The study found upgrading, defined as pT3 or post-operative Gleason sum of at least 7, was present in 35% of the men while positive surgical margins were present in 16%. Only 2.1% of the men were found to have a PSA concentration of greater than 0.1 ng/mL 6 to 12 weeks post-operatively.


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Additionally, erectile function was observed in 44% of the men, while urinary continence was observed in 84% after 12 months. They found that 38% of men who were potent and continent had remained that way with no biochemical recurrence after 12 months.

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“These results provide additional support for the use of active surveillance in men with very low-risk prostate cancer,” the authors concluded. “However, the number of men with risk of upgrading and upstaging is not negligible.”

Reference

  1. Carlsson S, Jäderling F, Wallerstedt A, et al. Oncological and functional outcomes 1 year after radical prostatectomy for very-low-risk prostate cancer: results from the prospective LAPPRO trial [published online ahead of print March 18, 2016]. BJUI International. doi: 10.1111/bju.13444.