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15-year biochemical failure, metastasis, salvage therapy, and cancer-specific and overall survival rates in men treated with robotic radical prostatectomy for PSA-screen detected prostate cancer

Abstract

Background

An informed decision regarding a treatment option requires data on its long-term efficacy and side-effect profile. While the side-effects of robotic radical prostatectomy have been well-quantified, the data on its long-term efficacy are lacking. We here provide 15-year oncological outcomes of clinically-localized prostate cancer (CLPCa) patients treated with robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP).

Methods

We treated 1,807 men with CLPCa with RALP between 2001 and 2005 and prospectively collected follow-up data through 2020. We examined the rates of biochemical failure (BCF), metastatic progression, secondary therapy use, PCa-specific mortality (PCSM), and overall survival (OS) using Kaplan-Meier and competing-risk cumulative incidence methods as appropriate.

Results

The median follow-up was 14.1 years. Six hundred eight and 312 men had D’Amico intermediate- and high-risk disease, respectively. Overall, the 15-year rates of BCF, metastasis, secondary therapy use, PCSM, and OS were 28.1%, 4.0%, 16.3%, 2.5%, and 82.1%, respectively. The rates of oncologic failure increased with increasing D’Amico (preoperative) and Diaz (postoperative) risk scores — BCF, metastasis, and PCSM rates in D’Amico low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups at 15-years were 15.2%, 38.3%, and 44.1% [BCF], 1.1%, 4.1%, and 13.0% [metastasis], and 0.5%, 3.4%, and 6.6% [PCSM], respectively, and in Diaz risk groups 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 were 5.5%, 20.6%, 41.8%, 66.9%, and 89.2% [BCF], 0%, 0.5%, 3.2%, 20.5%, and 60.0% [metastasis], and 0%, 0.8%, 0.6%, 13.5%, and 37.5% [PCSM], respectively. The OS rates in D’Amico low-to-high and Diaz 1-to-5 risk groups at 15-years were 85.9%, 78.6%, and 75.2%, and 89.4%, 83.2%, 80.6%, 67.2%, and 23.4%, respectively.

Conclusions

Men diagnosed with clinically-localized prostate cancer in the contemporaneous PSA-screening era and treated with RALP achieve durable long-term oncological control. The data reported here (in a risk-stratified manner) represent the longest follow-up after robotic radical prostatectomy, and as such, should be of value when counseling patients regarding expected oncologic outcomes from RALP.

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Fig. 1: Outcomes in overall cohort.
Fig. 2: Outcome stratified by preoperative D’Amico risk class.
Fig. 3: Outcomes stratified by postoperative Diaz risk class.

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Data availability

Data are available to interested parties on request from the corresponding author.

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Contributions

Conception and design: AS. Acquisition of data, statistical analysis: MDI. Analysis and interpretation of data: AS, MDI, MM. Drafting of manuscript: AS, RG, AKT, AKH, ASH, JOP, WJ, FA, JKR, JRA, MAG, MB, MM. Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: AS, MM. Funding, administrative, technical, or material support: MM.

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Correspondence to Akshay Sood.

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Sood, A., Grauer, R., Diaz-Insua, M. et al. 15-year biochemical failure, metastasis, salvage therapy, and cancer-specific and overall survival rates in men treated with robotic radical prostatectomy for PSA-screen detected prostate cancer. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 26, 778–786 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41391-023-00674-2

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