RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Salvage radical prostatectomy (sRP) yields poor functional outcomes and relatively high complication rates. Gleason score (GS) 6 prostate cancer (PCa) has genetic and clinical features showing little, if not absent, metastatic potential. However, the behavior of GS 6 PCa recurring after previous PCa treatment including radiotherapy and/or ablation has not been investigated. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the oncological outcomes of sRP for radio- and/or ablation-recurrent GS 6 PCa. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Retrospective data of sRP for recurrent PCa after local nonsurgical treatment were collected from 14 tertiary referral centers from 2000 to 2021. INTERVENTION: Prostate biopsy before sRP and sRP. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: A survival analysis was performed for pre-sRP biopsy and sRP-proven GS 6. Concordance between PCa at pre-sRP biopsy and sRP histology was assessed. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: We included GS 6 recurrent PCa at pre-sRP biopsy (n = 142) and at sRP (n = 50), as two cohorts. The majority had primary radiotherapy and/or brachytherapy (83.8% of GS 6 patients at pre-sRP biopsy; 78% of GS 6 patients at sRP) and whole-gland treatments (91% biopsy; 85.1% sRP). Biopsy GS 6 10-yr metastasis, cancer-specific survival (CSS), and overall survival (OS) were 79% (95% confidence interval [CI] 61-89%), 98% (95-99%), and 89% (78-95%), respectively. Upgrading at sRP was 69%, 35.5% had a pT3 stage, and 13.4% had positive nodes. The sRP GS 6 10-yr metastasis-free survival, CSS, and OS were 100%, 100%, and 90% (95% CI 58-98%) respectively; pT3 and pN1 disease were found in 12% and 0%, respectively. Overall complications, high-grade complications, and severe incontinence were experienced by >50%, >10%, and >15% of men, respectively (in both the biopsy and the sRP cohorts). Limitations include the retrospective nature of the study and absence of a centralized pathological review. CONCLUSIONS: GS 6 sRP-proven PCa recurring after nonsurgical primary treatment has almost no metastatic potential, while patients experience relevant morbidity of the procedure. However, a significant proportion of GS 6 cases at pre-sRP biopsy are upgraded at sRP. In the idea not to overtreat, efforts should be made to improve the diagnostic accuracy of pre-sRP biopsy. PATIENT SUMMARY: We investigated the oncological results of salvage radical prostatectomy for recurrent prostate cancer of Gleason score (GS) 6 category. We found a very low malignant potential of GS 6 confirmed at salvage radical prostatectomy despite surgical complications being relatively high. Nonetheless, biopsy GS 6 was frequently upgraded and had less optimal oncological control. Overtreatment for recurrent GS 6 after nonsurgical first-line treatment should be avoided, and efforts should be made to increase the diagnostic accuracy of biopsies for recurrent disease.
RESUMEN
Salvage radical prostatectomy (sRP) is a potentially curative option for locally radiorecurrent prostate cancer (PCa) but is associated with significant morbidity. Therefore, the European Association of Urology (EAU) guidelines recommend restricting sRP to a favorable-prognosis group according to the EAU criteria, but these have been validated considering only biochemical recurrence (BCR). Our aim was to test these criteria in a large, multicenter, contemporary cohort. We retrospectively reviewed 1265 patients who underwent sRP at 14 referral centers (2000-2021), stratified by compliance with the EAU criteria. Our primary outcome was metastasis-free survival (MFS). We included 1030 men, of whom 221 (21.5%) fully met the EAU recommended criteria for sRP and 809 (78.5%) did not. The EAU-compliant group experienced more favorable pathological and functional outcomes (79% vs 63% wearing no pads at 1 yr; p < 0.001) and had significantly better MFS (90% vs 76% at 5 yr; p < 0.001), prostate-specific antigen-free survival (55% vs 38% at 5 yr; p < 0.001), and overall survival (89% vs 84% at 5 yr; p = 0.01). This was verified by Cox regression analysis for MFS (hazard ratio 1.84, 95% confidence interval 1.13-2.99; p = 0.01). We found that adherence to the EAU criteria is associated with a lower risk of BCR and, more importantly, of metastasis after surgery. PATIENT SUMMARY: We looked at outcomes of surgical removal of the prostate for prostate cancer recurrence after radiotherapy or other nonsurgical treatments according to whether or not patients met the European Association of Urology (EAU) criteria for this surgery. We found that men who did not meet the criteria had a higher risk of metastasis and their benefit from surgery might be significantly less than for patients who do meet the EUA criteria.