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sLND for Prostate Cancer Nodal Recurrence: #urojc September 2014 summary

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The September 2014 edition of the International Urology Journal Club (#urojc) returned to familiar territory – prostate cancer. In particular, the discussion focused on salvage lymph node dissection following radical prostatectomy. For the second time (first in July 2014), two journal articles were selected. Both were kindly made available to open access by The Journal of Urology (@JUrology).

The first paper from the Mayo Clinic by Karnes et al., titled ‘Salvage Lymph Node Dissection (sLND) for Prostate Cancer Nodal Recurrence Detected by 11C-Choline Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT)’, reported on a retrospective single-surgeon series of 52 men who underwent salvage lymph node dissection for nodal recurrence post radical prostatectomy. Median follow-up was 20 months. Three-year Biochemical recurrence (BCR)-free survival rate was 45.5% (PSA <0.2). Metastatic/systemic progression-free and cancer-specific survival rates were 46.9% and 92.5% respectively. They concluded that sLND may delay further progression of disease but highlighted the need for randomised controlled trials.

The second paper from German group Tilki et al., titled ‘Salvage Lymph Node Dissection for nodal recurrence of prostate cancer after Radical Prostatectomy’, also reported on a retrospective series of 58 patients who underwent sLND for nodal recurrence on PET/CT post radical prostatectomy. Median follow-up was 39 months. All but 1 patient had BCR. Five-year clinical recurrence-free and cancer-specific survival rates were 35.9% and 71% respectively.  Tilki et al. concluded that while most patients had BCR, sLND may delay ADT and clinical recurrence in selected cases.

A common sentiment shared during the discussion related to the lack of randomised evidence for sLND:

There were some serious concerns about the methodology and results from the two articles:

Discussions quickly shifted away from the two articles to the actual clinical question of sLND in oligometastatic disease and delay to ADT. Matthew Katz provided useful links to the use of stereotactic radiation therapy.

Issues surrounding sLND training and the paradigm shift in recent years were also highlighted:

Opinions were divided on the question of surgical morbidity versus the potential increase in time to ADT:

Pop culture references were in vogue this month. An article by the Mayo Clinic on the 11C-Choline PET scan sparked the linked exchange:

Some take home messages pertained to the uncertainty regarding patient selection and the role of sLND in the broader multidisciplinary arena of prostate cancer treatment:

The winner of the Best Tweet Prize is Brian Chapin (@ChapinMD) for his tweet above.  We thank the Journal of Clinical Urology for supporting this month’s prize by way of a one year electronic subscription to their journal.  We also thank the Journal of Urology for supporting this month’s discussion by way of allowing time limited open access of both articles.

Staying true to form, this month’s edition of #urojc provided a forum for lively international discussion. We look forward to next month’s installment and especially encourage trainees to make use of this excellent educational opportunity.

 

Isaac Thangasamy is a second year Urology Trainee currently working at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Brisbane, Australia. He is passionate about education and social media. Follow him on Twitter @iThangasamy

 

Article of the week: RP is safe in patients taking aspirin

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Every week the Editor-in-Chief selects the Article of the Week from the current issue of BJUI. The abstract is reproduced below and you can click on the button to read the full article, which is freely available to all readers for at least 30 days from the time of this post.

In addition to the article itself, there is an accompanying editorial written by a prominent member of the urological community. This blog is intended to provoke comment and discussion and we invite you to use the comment tools at the bottom of each post to join the conversation.

Finally, the third post under the Article of the Week heading on the homepage will consist of additional material or media. This week we feature a video from Mr. Sami-Ramzi Leyh-Bannurah discussing his paper.

If you only have time to read one article this week, it should be this one.

Open and robot-assisted radical retropubic prostatectomy in men receiving ongoing low-dose aspirin medication: revisiting an old paradigm?

Sami-Ramzi Leyh-Bannurah, Jens Hansen, Hendrik Isbarn, Thomas Steuber, Pierre Tennstedt, Uwe Michl, Thorsten Schlomm*, Alexander Haese, Hans Heinzer, Hartwig Huland, Markus Graefen and Lars Budäus

Martini Clinic, Prostate Cancer Center at University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, and *Department of Urology, Section for Translational Prostate Cancer Research, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

Read the full article
OBJECTIVE

• To assess blood loss, transfusion rates and 90-day complication rates in patients receiving ongoing 100 mg/day aspirin medication and undergoing open radical prostatectomy (RP) or robot-assisted RP (RARP).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

• Between February 2010 and August 2011, 2061 open RPs and 400 RARPs were performed. All patients received low-molecular-weight heparin for thrombembolism prophylaxis. Aspirin intake during surgery was recorded in 137 patients (5.5%).

• Descriptive statistics and multivariable analyses after propensity-score matching for balancing potential differences in patients with and without aspirin medication were used to assess the risk of blood loss above the median in patients undergoing open RP or RARP.

RESULTS

• The median blood loss in the open RP cohort with and without aspirin medication was 750 and 700 mL, respectively, and in the RARP cohort it was 200 and 150 mL, respectively. Within the same cohorts, transfusions were administered in 21 and 8% and 0 and 1% of patients, respectively.

• The 90-day complication rates in patients with ongoing aspirin medication were 5.8, 4.4, 7.3 and 0% for Clavien grades I, II, III and IV complications, respectively.

• In multivariable analyses and after propensity-score matching, prostate volume (odds ratio 1.03; 95% CI 1.02–1.04; P < 0.01) but not ongoing aspirin medication achieved independent predictor status for the risk of blood loss above the median.

CONCLUSIONS

• Major surgery such as open RP and RARP can be safely performed in patients with ongoing aspirin medication without greater blood loss.

• Higher 90-day complication rates were not detected in such patients.

• Differences in transfusion rates between the groups receiving and not receiving ongoing aspirin medication may be explained by a higher proportion of patients with coronary artery disease in the group receiving ongoing aspirin mediciation. This comorbidity may result in a higher peri-operative threshold for allogenic blood transfusion.

Read more articles of the week

Editorial: Perioperative aspirin: To give or not to give?

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As the population ages and life expectancy increases, one may safely assume that more men will be diagnosed with diseases of the elderly such as prostate cancer. In the USA, it is estimated that the number of older adults (≥65 years old) will double between 2010 and 2030, contributing to a 45% increase in cancer incidence [1]. Also, it is likely that these older patients will present with multiple comorbidities, commonly described as ‘multimorbidity’ in the contemporary medical literature, including chronic cardiac and pulmonary conditions requiring multidisciplinary medical management.

Hence, the present study by Leyh-Bannurah et al. [2] examining the peri-operative use of aspirin in patients undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP) is a timely and important contribution, and may very well influence our clinical decision-making regarding the perioperative management of the anti-coagulated patient. Their results show that perioperative continuation of aspirin made no difference in peri and postoperative outcomes following RP. Previous studies have assessed the effect of aspirin continuation in patients undergoing minimally invasive RP, but the present study is the first to evaluate the effect of aspirin continuation in patients undergoing minimally invasive and open RP at a high-volume tertiary centre. Studies from other surgical specialties evaluating the role of anti-platelet therapy and its timing before surgery have shown conflicting results. The study by Park et al. [3], looking at discontinuation of aspirin for ≥7 days vs <7 days before surgery in patients undergoing lumbar spinal fusion, found that aspirin discontinued only 3–7 days before surgery significantly increased the risk of intraoperative bleeding. Alghamdi et al. [4] found similar results in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. In contrast, the study by Wolf et al. [5] showed that continuation of aspirin up to the day of the surgery did not increase the risk of bleeding, transfusion or other adverse outcomes in patients undergoing pancreatectomy. Similarly, Khudairy et al. [6] assessed the use of clopidogrel and its discontinuation time in hip fracture repair, and found that whether it was stopped ≥1 week or <1 week before surgery did not make any difference to the risk of bleeding or peri-operative complications. Nonetheless, the evidence provided by the present study by Leyh-Bannurah et al. is important, as the risk of bleeding seems to be procedure-specific, depending on the nature and source of potential bleeding (primarily arterial vs primarily venous). The lack of information, however, regarding cardiovascular morbidities in their patient population is an important limitation of their study; as such factors may influence perioperative decision-making, including the threshold for transfusion.

Read the full article

Akshay Sood and Quoc-Dien Trinh*
VUI Center for Outcomes Research, Analytics and Evaluation, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI, and *Division of Urologic Surgery and Center for Surgery and Public Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

References

  1. Lamb A. Fast Facts: prostate cancer, seventh edition. BJU Int 2012; 110: E157
  3. Park JH, Ahn Y, Choi BS et al. Antithrombotic effects of aspirin on 1- or 2-level lumbar spinal fusion surgery: a comparison between 2 groups discontinuing aspirin use before and after 7 days prior to surgery. Spine 2013; 38: 1561–1565
  4. Alghamdi AA, Moussa F, Fremes SE. Does the use of preoperative aspirin increase the risk of bleeding in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting surgery? Systematic review and meta-analysis. J Cardiac Surg 2007; 22: 247–256
  5. Wolf AM, Pucci MJ, Gabale SD et al. Safety of perioperative aspirin therapy in pancreatic operations. Surgery 2014; 155: 39–46
  6. Al Khudairy A, Al-Hadeedi O, Sayana MK, Galvin R, Quinlan JF. Withholding clopidogrel for 3 to 6 versus 7 days or more before surgery in hip fracture patients. J Orthop Surg 2013; 21: 146–150
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Video: Effect of peri-operative aspirin medication in open or robot-assisted RP

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Open and robot-assisted radical retropubic prostatectomy in men receiving ongoing low-dose aspirin medication: revisiting an old paradigm?

Sami-Ramzi Leyh-Bannurah, Jens Hansen, Hendrik Isbarn, Thomas Steuber, Pierre Tennstedt, Uwe Michl, Thorsten Schlomm*, Alexander Haese, Hans Heinzer, Hartwig Huland, Markus Graefen and Lars Budäus

Martini Clinic, Prostate Cancer Center at University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, and *Department of Urology, Section for Translational Prostate Cancer Research, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany

Read the full article
OBJECTIVE

• To assess blood loss, transfusion rates and 90-day complication rates in patients receiving ongoing 100 mg/day aspirin medication and undergoing open radical prostatectomy (RP) or robot-assisted RP (RARP).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

• Between February 2010 and August 2011, 2061 open RPs and 400 RARPs were performed. All patients received low-molecular-weight heparin for thrombembolism prophylaxis. Aspirin intake during surgery was recorded in 137 patients (5.5%).

• Descriptive statistics and multivariable analyses after propensity-score matching for balancing potential differences in patients with and without aspirin medication were used to assess the risk of blood loss above the median in patients undergoing open RP or RARP.

RESULTS

• The median blood loss in the open RP cohort with and without aspirin medication was 750 and 700 mL, respectively, and in the RARP cohort it was 200 and 150 mL, respectively. Within the same cohorts, transfusions were administered in 21 and 8% and 0 and 1% of patients, respectively.

• The 90-day complication rates in patients with ongoing aspirin medication were 5.8, 4.4, 7.3 and 0% for Clavien grades I, II, III and IV complications, respectively.

• In multivariable analyses and after propensity-score matching, prostate volume (odds ratio 1.03; 95% CI 1.02–1.04; P < 0.01) but not ongoing aspirin medication achieved independent predictor status for the risk of blood loss above the median.

CONCLUSIONS

• Major surgery such as open RP and RARP can be safely performed in patients with ongoing aspirin medication without greater blood loss.

• Higher 90-day complication rates were not detected in such patients.

• Differences in transfusion rates between the groups receiving and not receiving ongoing aspirin medication may be explained by a higher proportion of patients with coronary artery disease in the group receiving ongoing aspirin mediciation. This comorbidity may result in a higher peri-operative threshold for allogenic blood transfusion.

Read more articles of the week

15th Asia-Pacific Prostate Cancer Conference 2014

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Blog author Dr Sarah Wilkinson enjoys lunchtime entertainment at APCC in Melbourne.

The 15th Asia-Pacific Prostate Cancer Conference 2014 (#apcc14; prostatecancerconference.org.au/) is the largest prostate cancer educational event in the region and attracts over 800 multidisciplinary delegates every year. The world’s leading experts in prostate cancer have featured on the Faculty at this conference in recent year’s and this year’s Faculty was again a great team-sheet for leaders in this field:

The Confernece kicked off on Sun 31st August with a series of Masterclasses including the very popular da Vinci© Prostatectomy Masterclass (featuring Dr Henk Van Der Poel, Dr John Davis, Dr Markus Graefen and Dr Paul Cathcart), along with new master classes focusing on Prostate MRI scanning (led by Dr Jelle Barentsz), and LDR Brachytherapy (led by Dr Juanita Crook).

MRI Prostate Masterclass led by Jelle Barentsz was a sell-out

The Nursing & Allied Health streams also opened their plenary sessions to a busy auditorium. The official Poster and Welcome Session was held on Sunday evening on what was an unseasonally warm and to Winter in Australia. Whilst enjoying the range of lovely canapés and beverages on offer via Melbourne’s premier conference and catering venue (https://mcec.com.au/), delegates caught up with their long lost urology colleagues and perused the high quality posters on display. Poster prizes were awarded for each of the three conference streams; Clinical Urology, Nursing & Allied Health, and Translational Science, as judged by experts in the respective fields. The task of picking just one winner for the Clinical Urology category proved too difficult for judges A/Prof Henry Woo (@DrHWoo) and Dr Phil Dundee (@phildundee), so a dual prize was awarded to both Dr Fairleigh Reeves (@DrFairleighR) and A/Prof Jeremy Millar (@jeremymillar). Rob McDowell took out the poster prize for the Nursing & Allied Health stream with his poster on baseline characteristics of participants in a telephone-delivered mindfulness intervention for men with advanced prostate cancer. The Translational Science winner was Saeid Alinezhad, who presented; ACSM1, CACNA1D and LMNB1 as three novel prostate cancer biomarker candidates.

Monday morning saw the Official Conference Opening given by conference President Prof Tony Costello (@proftcostello) who announced the opening of a new Royal Men’s Hospital to specifically address the needs of men’s health in Australia. The life expectancy of Australian males is currently 5 yrs less than women, and cancer mortality is a third higher for prostate cancer compared to breast. Rates of alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse, as well as suicide, are all 4x higher in men compared to women. 66% Australian men are overweight or obese, and men are also far less likely to visit their GP for a check-up. Next we were lucky enough to have Federal Minister for Health and Sport, the Hon. Peter Dutton MP (@PeterDutton_MP), take leave from Parliament to give the Ministerial Address. Mr Dutton expressed his support for the conference and the forthcoming opening of the new “Royal Men’s Hospital”, a clinic focussed on Men’s Health in Australia’s premier health science precinct, and spoke of how he hopes the recently proposed $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund will further help advances in this area.

Conference President Prof Tony Costello with Australia’s Minister for Health, Hon Peter Dutton MP

The 2nd Patrick C Walsh Lecture was given by Dr Peter Carroll from the Department of Urology, UCSF, USA. Dr Carroll discussed how we can refine current risk assessments for patients with prostate cancer, and in the process give them refined treatment options. Dr Caroll and his team (including Dr Matthew Cooperberg who was also present), have led the way in risk stratification for men with localised prostate cancer and continue to find ways to best select men at higher risk of adverse outcomes.

This year’s point-counter point debate focused on the preferred method of prostate cancer biopsy. In the left side of the ring we had Mr Jeremy Grummet (@jgrummet) who argued the case for a transperineal biopsy due to multi-drug resistant rectal flora. On the right side we had Mr Shomik Sengupta (@shomik_s) who was in favour of sticking with the well-established TRUS. Following a very close audience vote, session chair A/Prof Nathan Lawrentschuk (@lawrentschuk) declared the winner, “Close, but transfecal by an organism.”

The Conference dinner was held on Monday evening at the Mural Hall, Myer Building. 18th century style mirrored commodes and Parisian inspired parquet flooring transported guests to another world, whilst some fine whisky and entertainment was enjoyed.

And for those who hadn’t partied too hard, the Clinical Urology and Translational Science Breakfast sessions were back by popular demand beginning promptly at 6:45 am the next morning. Both sessions focused on genomics and its implications in diagnosis and treatment planning in what is now coined ‘The Genomic Era’.

Later in the morning we remembered renowned British urologist Prof John Fitzpatrick, who sadly passed away aged 65 on May 14th 2014, suffering from a massive subarachnoid haemorrhage. His close colleague and friend, Prof Roger Kirby, delivered the remembrance speech “Life in the Fast Lane”, along with a musically accompanied slide show. Prof Kirby’s tribute can also be read here at Blogs@BJUI (https://www.bjuinternational.com/bjui-blog/professor-john-fitzpatrick-1948-2014/).

The urology Twitterati were again out in full force at #apcc14. During peri-conference period (including the 5 day lead up period, the actual conference dates, and 2 days post-conference), almost 400,000 impressions were generated in cyperspace from 424 tweets, by 111 participants. There was an average of 2 tweets per hr over the peri-conference period and each participant averaged 4 tweets each.

The conference ended with the exciting news of a 2nd Prostate Cancer World Congress, to be held August 18-21st 2015 in beautiful Cairns, Queensland Australia. See you there!

 

 

 

Sarah Wilkinson completed her PhD in prostate cancer research and is now working as a Medical Science Liaison for Oncology and Haematology at GSK. Twitter: @wilko3040

 

Article of the week: Guideline of guidelines: prostate cancer screening

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Every week the Editor-in-Chief selects the Article of the Week from the current issue of BJUI. The introduction is reproduced below and you can click on the button to read the full article, which is freely available to all readers for at least 30 days from the time of this post.

If you only have time to read one article this week, it should be this one.

Guideline of guidelines: prostate cancer screening

Stacy Loeb
Department of Urology and Population Health, New York University, New York, NY, USA

Read the full article
INTRODUCTION

Prostate cancer screening is one of the most controversial topics in urology [1]. On one hand, there is randomised data showing that PSA screening results in earlier stages at diagnosis, improved oncological outcomes after treatment, and lower prostate cancer mortality rates. However, the downsides include unnecessary biopsies due to false-positive PSA tests, over-diagnosis of some insignificant cancers, and potential side-effects from prostate biopsy and/or prostate cancer treatment. The ongoing controversy is highlighted by the divergent recommendations on screening from multiple professional organisations. The purpose of this article is to summarise the recent guidelines on prostate cancer screening from 2012 to present.

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Article of the week: Free testosterone levels in PCa reclassification

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Every week the Editor-in-Chief selects the Article of the Week from the current issue of BJUI. The abstract is reproduced below and you can click on the button to read the full article, which is freely available to all readers for at least 30 days from the time of this post.

In addition to the article itself, there is an accompanying editorial written by a prominent member of the urological community. This blog is intended to provoke comment and discussion and we invite you to use the comment tools at the bottom of each post to join the conversation.

If you only have time to read one article this week, it should be this one.

Low free testosterone levels predict disease reclassification in men with prostate cancer undergoing active surveillance

Ignacio F. San Francisco, Pablo A. Rojas, William C. DeWolf* and Abraham Morgentaler*

Departamento de Urología, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile and *Division of Urological Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

Read the full article
OBJECTIVE

To determine whether total testosterone and free testosterone levels predict disease reclassification in a cohort of men with prostate cancer (PCa) on active surveillance (AS).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Total testosterone and free testosterone concentrations were determined at the time the men began the AS protocol. Statistical analysis was performed using Student’s t-test and a chi-squared test to compare groups. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were obtained using univariate logistic regression. Receiver–operator characteristic curves were generated to determine the investigated testosterone thresholds. Kaplan–Meier curves were used to estimate time to disease reclassification. A Cox proportional hazard regression model was used for multivariate analysis. You can learn about testosterone here and so much more for your health.

RESULTS

A total of 154 men were included in the AS cohort, of whom 54 (35%) progressed to active treatment. Men who had disease reclassification had significantly lower free testosterone levels than those who were not reclassified (0.75 vs 1.02 ng/dL, P = 0.03). Men with free testosterone levels <0.45 ng/dL had a higher rate of disease reclassification than patients with free testosterone levels ≥0.45 (P = 0.032). Free testosterone levels <0.45 ng/dL were associated with a several-fold increase in the risk of disease reclassification (OR 4.3, 95% CI 1.25–14.73). Multivariate analysis showed that free testosterone and family history of PCa were independent predictors of disease reclassification.

CONCLUSIONS

Free testosterone levels were lower in men with PCa who had reclassification during AS. Men with moderately severe reductions in free testosterone level are at increased risk of disease reclassification.

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Editorial: The importance of knowing testosterone levels in patients with prostate cancer

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The paper by San Francisco et al. [1] in this issue of BJUI, reviews 154 patients with prostate cancer who were included in an active surveillance cohort. In all, 54 (35%) progressed to active treatment. Men who had disease reclassification had significantly lower free testosterone than those who were not reclassified. They concluded that on multivariate analysis, free testosterone and a family history of prostate cancer were independent predictors of disease reclassification. The authors acknowledge that this was a retrospective study of small size and the data was missing in some of the men, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), luteinizing hormone and oestradiol were not measured. Nevertheless, this review adds to the increasing evidence that it is important to measure testosterone levels in men with prostate cancer.

Previous studies have indicated that a low testosterone level before treatment for prostate cancer is an independent predictor of a more aggressive high-grade cancer [2]. In addition to this, there appears to be an increased likelihood of extraprostatic disease at the time of diagnosis [3] and an unfavourable response to treatment [4].

Garcia-Cruz et al. [5] in 2012 reported that low testosterone bioavailability is related to a positive prostate cancer diagnosis in patients submitted for prostate biopsy. In a further study, he showed that low testosterone levels were related to poor prognosis factors in men with prostate cancer prior to treatment. Testosterone was inversely related to prostate cancer bilaterally and percentage of tumour in the biopsy. Higher testosterone levels were found in patients allocated to the low-risk progression group. In the multivariate analysis, older age and lower testosterone levels were related to a higher D’Amico risk of progression [5]. The researchers went on to show that higher SHBG and lower bioavailable testosterone are related to prostate cancer detection on biopsy. The study was a prospective analysis of 279 patients referred for prostate biopsy. Low bioavailable testosterone and high SHBG levels were related to a 4.9- and 3.2-fold increased risk of detection of prostate cancer on prostate biopsy taken due to an abnormal PSA result or an abnormal DRE [6].

Free testosterone accounts for about 1–2% of total testosterone and hence most circulating testosterone is bound to SHBG and as such, is inactive. Yamamoto et al. [7] had previously shown that men with a low free testosterone (<1.5 ng/dL) had an increased risk of a high Gleason score (>8) compared with men with higher free testosterone (8% vs 2%; P = 0.04). Additionally, a free testosterone level of <1.5 ng/dL was associated with increased risk of biochemical recurrence of tumour.

Morgentaler et al. [8] have been turning conventional wisdom upside down. They report on 13 symptomatic testosterone deficient men who also had untreated prostate cancer. The men received testosterone therapy while undergoing active surveillance for a median of 2.5 years. None of the men had aggressive or advanced prostate cancer and they were rigorously followed up. Despite effective treatment, neither the PSA level nor prostate volume showed any change. Follow-up biopsies were taken in all of the men at yearly intervals and none developed cancer progression.

It is intriguing to think that the decline in testosterone with age and comorbidities may contribute to tumorigenesis in the prostate. Clearly this study needs to be replicated with much larger numbers. But it seems reasonable to suggest that we ought to know about the hormonal environment existing in our patients with prostate cancer. This will of course, raise the even more controversial area of what to do about men with symptomatic hypogonadism with treated and untreated prostate cancer. There is limited data available on this issue.

Before considering testosterone therapy, the first step should be intensive lifestyle intervention; this is not only known to improve cancer survival, but raises total and free testosterone. Weight loss inhibits aromatase, and other complex cytokines, this reduces the suppression of the pituitary gonadal axis and conversion of testosterone to oestrogen, raising testosterone levels.

Read the full article

Michael Kirby*,†
*The Prostate Centre, London, and †Institute of Diabetes for Older People (IDOP), Beds & Herts Postgraduate Medical School, Puckeridge Bury Campus, Luton, UK

References

  1. San Francisco I, Rojas P, Dewolf W, Morgentaler A. Low free testosterone predicts disease reclassification in men with prostate cancer undergoing active surveillance. BJU Int 2014; 114: 229–235
  2. Massengill JC, Sun L, Moul JW et al. Pretreatment total testosterone level predicts pathological stage in patients with localized prostate cancer treated with radical prostatectomy. J Urol 2003; 169: 1670–1675
  3. Chen SS, Chen KK, Lin AT, Chang YH, Wu HH, Chang LS. The correlation between pretreatment serum hormone levels and treatment outcome for patients with prostatic cancer and bony metastasis. BJU Int 2002; 89: 710–713
  4. Ribeiro M, Ruff P, Falkson G. Low serum testosterone and a younger age predict for a poor outcome in metastatic prostate cancer. Am J Clin Oncol 1997; 20: 605–608
  5. Garcia-Cruz E, Piqueras M, Huguet J et al. Low testosterone levels are related to poor prognosis factors in men with prostate cancer prior to treatment. BJU Int 2012; 110: E541–546
  6. Garcia-Cruz E, Carrión Puig A, Garcia-Larrosa A et al. Higher sex hormone-binding globulin and lower bioavailable testosterone. Scand J Urol 2013; 47: 282–289
  7. Yamamoto S, Yonese J, Kawakame S et al. Preoperative serum testosterone level as an independent predictor of treatment failure following radical prostatectomy. Eur Urol 2007; 52: 696–701
  8. Morgentaler A, Liphultz LI, Bennett R, Sweeney M, Avila D Jr, Khera M. Testosterone therapy in men with untreated prostate cancer. J Urol 2011; 185: 1256–1260
Read more articles of the week

Article of the Week: Retzius-sparing RALP: combining the best of retropubic and perineal approaches

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Every week the Editor-in-Chief selects the Article of the Week from the current issue of BJUI. The abstract is reproduced below and you can click on the button to read the full article, which is freely available to all readers for at least 30 days from the time of this post.

In addition to the article itself, there is an accompanying editorial written by a prominent member of the urological community. This blog is intended to provoke comment and discussion and we invite you to use the comment tools at the bottom of each post to join the conversation.

Finally, the third post under the Article of the Week heading on the homepage will consist of additional material or media. This week we feature a video demonstrating the Retzius-sparing approach to robot-assisted prostatectomy.

If you only have time to read one article this week, it should be this one.

Retzius-sparing robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy: combining the best of retropubic and perineal approaches

Sey Kiat Lim*†, Kwang Hyun Kim*, Tae-Young Shin*, Woong Kyu Han*, Byung Ha Chung*, Sung Joon Hong*, Young Deuk Choi* and Koon Ho Rha*

*Department of Urology, Urological Science Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea and †Department of Urology, Changi General Hospital, Singapore

Read the full article
OBJECTIVE

To compare the early peri-operative, oncological and continence outcomes of Retzius-sparing robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) with those of conventional RALP.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data from 50 patients who underwent Retzius-sparing RALP and who had at least 6 months of follow-up were prospectively collected and compared with a database of patients who underwent conventional RALP. Propensity-score matching was performed using seven preoperative variables, and postoperative variables were compared between the groups.

RESULTS

A total of 581 patients who had undergone RALP were evaluated in the present study. Although preoperative characteristics were different before propensity-score matching, these differences were resolved after matching. There were no significant differences in mean length of hospital stay, estimated blood loss, intra- and postoperative complication rates, pathological stage of disease, Gleason scores, tumour volumes and positive surgical margins between the conventional RALP and Retzius-sparing RALP groups. Console time was shorter for Retzius-sparing RALP. Recovery of early continence (defined as 0 pads used) at 4 weeks after RALP was significantly better in the Retzius-sparing RALP group than in the conventional RALP group.

CONCLUSIONS

The present results suggest that Retzius-sparing RALP, although technically more demanding, was as feasible and effective as conventional RALP, and also led to a shorter operating time and faster recovery of early continence. Retzius-sparing RALP was also reproducible and achievable in all cases.

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Editorial: Pushing the robot-assisted prostatectomy envelope – to the safety limits? Better outcomes

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The present article by Lim et al. [1] describing the new technique for robot-assisted radical prostatectomy is provocative. It really does highlight the dramatic improvement in outcomes of prostate cancer surgery for men over the last 25 years. What used to be a 3-week hospital stay with a 50% incontinence rate and a 100% impotence rate [2, 3] now becomes a day case with a high likelihood of excellent urinary control early after surgery and a fair potential for potency preservation. Twenty-five years ago men who underwent radical prostatectomy were truly brave patients.

Lim et al. report a single series by the senior author of 50 cases performed using the so-called Retzius preservation technique. Their cohort of 50 patients treated this way was compared with a retrospective cohort of the surgeon’s patients. The patients had lower-risk disease and patients who had seminal vesicle invasion or extracapsular extension noted preoperatively, presumably on MRI, were excluded from the series. The authors report a shorter operating time and an earlier return to urinary continence in the first 6 months after surgery.

I guess where surgeons are now taking us is to an attempt to remove the prostate from the hammock of neurovascular, muscular and fascial tissue surrounding it, without disturbing the anatomy [4]. If this can be achieved then radical prostatectomy with minimal morbidity is a very compelling choice for the primary treatment of prostate cancer.

The authors’ hypothesis is that preservation of the levator fascia, puboprostatic ligaments and detrusor apron will fix the bladder somewhat like a sling would, with support at the bladder neck during increased intra-abdominal pressure.

It should be noted, however, that the present paper represents a single series of patients selected after a long learning curve by a very experienced surgeon. These excellent outcomes may simply reflect the fact that the surgeon is now extremely technically capable. It is contentious to assume that a propensity score matching of a retrospective cohort would represent a true comparator to contemporary outcomes. These excellent outcomes probably reflect technical improvements achievable with more risky and innovative surgery – after many cases. The authors should be congratulated on pushing the envelope to achieve even better outcomes for patients undergoing this operation, but the exclusion of patients with high-risk disease is probably the major negative aspect of their report. It has become increasingly obvious that patients with high-risk disease are those who benefit most from radical prostatectomy surgery. Surgery for patients with very-low-risk disease (Gleason 6) is probably unnecessary. Nevertheless, with continued insights such as those provided by these surgeons, we may be able to increase the range of patients to whom Retzius-sparing surgery in higher risk cohorts can be offered.

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Anthony J. Costello
Department of Urology, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia

References

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