Non-prostatic bed recurrence of prostate cancer (PCa) is usually treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). We analyzed the impact of salvage extended lymph node dissection (sLND) on cancer control in patients with rising PSA and lymph node (LN) metastases.
Between 2009 and 2016 we performed sLND in 87 patients with biochemical recurrence (BCR) and positive LNs on 18FEC and 68Ga-PSMA positron emission tomography/X-ray computer tomography (PET/CT) after primary treatment (PT) of PCa. Intra- and postoperative complications according to Clavien-Dindo were assessed and the rates of biochemical response (BR), BCR-free and clinical recurrence (CR)-free survival, as well as time to initiation of systemic treatment were evaluated.
Mean age of patients and mean PSA at sLND was 66.7 years (46-80 years) and 2.63 ng ml-1 (1.27-3.75 ng ml-1), respectively. With 87.4% radical prostatectomy (RP) was the most common PT. In all, 57.9% of patients additionally underwent adjuvant/salvage radiation therapy (RT) and 18.4% received ADT before sLND. Complete BR (cBR) was diagnosed in 27.5% of patients and incomplete BR in 40.6%. In total, 62.2% of patients remained without ADT at follow-up. With a median follow-up of 21 months (1-75 months), the cancer-specific mortality rate was 3.7%. The 3-year BCR-free, systemic therapy-free and CR-free survival rates for patients with cBR were 69.3%, 77.0% and 75%, respectively.
sLND can be performed without significant complications and achieves an immediate BR, thus allowing a significant postponement of systemic therapy in selected patients with BCR and nodal recurrence of PCa. Therefore, sLND following 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT should be considered as part of a multimodal diagnostic and treatment concept for selective patients.
Prostate cancer and prostatic diseases. 2016 Nov 08 [Epub]
D Porres, D Pfister, A Thissen, T H Kuru, V Zugor, R Buettner, R Knuechel, F A Verburg, A Heidenreich
Department of Urology, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany., Department of Pathology, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany., Department of Pathology, RWTH University Hospital Aachen, Aachen, Germany., Department of Nuclear Medicine, RWTH University Hospital Aachen, Aachen, Germany.