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Horst Zincke

Publications and source records attributed to Horst Zincke.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Bladder cancer risk following primary and adjuvant external beam radiation for prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: Increased rates of secondary bladder malignancies have been reported after external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) for gynecological malignancies with relative risks of 2 to 4. This study was designed to determine if there was an increase in bladder cancer after EBRT for prostate cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the Mayo Clinic Cancer Registry for patients who received EBRT for prostate cancer (1980 to 1998). Patients diagnosed with bladder cancer were identified. Comparative incidence rates were obtained from the national Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database. Subset analysis included patients treated with adjuvant radiation and those residing locally. Medical histories of patients with bladder cancer were reviewed. RESULTS: A total of 1,743 patients received EBRT for prostate cancer at our institution. In more than 12,353 man-years of followup no increase in bladder cancer risk was encountered. Subset analysis of men who received adjuvant radiation demonstrated that the relative risk of bladder cancer was increased but was not statistically significant. When the analysis was restricted to patients residing in the local area, the number of patients in whom subsequent bladder cancer developed was similar to Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results rates. However, in the adjuvant radiation subset there was a statistically significant increase in subsequent bladder cancer. Patients in whom bladder cancer develops after EBRT often present with low grade disease but many have recurrence and progression. CONCLUSIONS: This retrospective review suggests there is not evidence of increased risk of bladder cancer after radiation therapy, assuming unbiased followup and complete ascertainment of cases. The natural history of bladder cancer in this population does not seem to be altered by a history of radiation.

Adult↗

Complications of contemporary open nephron sparing surgery: a single institution experience.

PURPOSE: Open nephron sparing surgery (NSS) is now the standard of care for small renal tumors irrespective of overall renal function. More recently laparoscopic NSS with hilar clamping has emerged, albeit with relatively longer ischemic times. We reviewed our experience with contemporary open NSS, comparing complication rates to those of historical controls and updating data for comparison with minimally invasive procedures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 1985 to 2001, 823 open NSSs were performed at our institution. Early (within 30 days of NSS) and late (30 days to 1 year) complications were compared using the chi-square and Wilcoxon rank sum tests between procedures performed in 1985 to 1995 (control group of 343 patients) and 1996 to 2001 (contemporary group of 480). RESULTS: In the control vs the contemporary group there were significant decreases in intraoperative blood loss (median 550 vs 350 cc, p <0.001), chronic renal insufficiency/failure (14.6% vs 8.1%, p = 0.003), dialysis need (7.0% vs 2.1%, p <0.001) and any early (13.4% vs 6.9%, p = 0.002) or late (32.4% vs 24.6%, p = 0.014) complication. In the contemporary group 50% of patients did not require pedicle clamping, 32% underwent warm ischemia (median 12 minutes) and 18% underwent cold ischemia (median 27 minutes). In addition, patients with a warm ischemia time of 20 minutes or less had fewer early complications than patients with greater than 20 minutes of ischemia, although this did not attain statistical significance (3.8% vs 13.6%, p = 0.063). CONCLUSIONS: Complications resulting from open NSS have significantly decreased with time. Contemporary open NSS is associated with minimal morbidity, and decreases the need for pedicle clamping and overall ischemia time.

Adult↗

Is renal sinus fat invasion the same as perinephric fat invasion for pT3a renal cell carcinoma?

PURPOSE: Perinephric and renal sinus fat invasion are classified as pT3a renal cell carcinoma (RCC) according to the 2002 American Joint Committee on Cancer. We investigated the prognostic significance of each of these pathological features using a cohort of pT3a patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 1970 and 2002, 205 patients without direct adrenal invasion underwent nephrectomy for pT3a clear cell RCC. The associations of fat invasion with death from RCC were evaluated using Cox proportional hazards regression models. RESULTS: Of the 162 patients with perinephric fat invasion and 43 patients with renal sinus fat invasion 95 (59%) and 31 (72%), respectively, died of RCC. Patients with renal sinus fat invasion were 63% more likely to die of RCC compared with those with perinephric fat invasion (RR 1.63, 95% CI 1.09-2.46, p=0.018). In addition, the risk of death persisted in multivariate analysis after adjusting for regional lymph nodes and distant metastases (RR 1.91, 95% CI 1.26-2.89, p=0.002) and after adjusting for the Mayo Clinic SSIGN (stage, size, grade and necrosis) score (RR 1.90, 95% CI 1.25-2.88, p=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that clear cell tumors invading the renal sinus fat are more aggressive than tumors with perinephric fat involvement. We believe both of these features should be individually assessed during routine pathological examination. External validation is needed before suggesting a change to the TNM staging system.

Adipose Tissue↗

A scoring algorithm to predict survival for patients with metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma: a stratification tool for prospective clinical trials.

PURPOSE: We developed a clinically useful scoring algorithm to predict cancer specific survival for patients with clear cell metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 727 patients treated with radical nephrectomy for clear cell RCC from 1970 to 2000 who had distant metastases at nephrectomy (285) or in whom metastases subsequently developed (442). A scoring algorithm to predict cancer specific survival was developed using the regression coefficients from a Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: There were 606 deaths from clear cell RCC at a median of 1.0 years (range 0 to 14) following metastatic RCC. Constitutional symptoms at nephrectomy (+2), metastases to the bone (+2) or liver (+4), metastases in multiple simultaneous sites (+2), metastases at nephrectomy (+1) or within 2 years of nephrectomy (+3), complete resection of all metastatic sites (-5), tumor thrombus level I to IV (+3), and the primary pathological features of nuclear grade 4 (+3) and histological tumor necrosis (+2) were significantly associated with death from RCC. All patients started with a score of 0 and points were added or subtracted as indicated in parentheses. Cancer specific survival rates at 1 year were 85.1%, 72.1%, 58.8%, 39.0%, and 25.1%, respectively, for patients with scores of -5 to -1, scores of 0 to 2, scores of 3 to 6, scores of 7 or 8, and scores of 9 or more. CONCLUSIONS: This scoring algorithm can be used to predict cancer specific survival for patients with metastatic clear cell RCC.

Adenocarcinoma, Clear Cell↗

Preoperative prostate specific antigen doubling time and velocity are strong and independent predictors of outcomes following radical prostatectomy.

PURPOSE: Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is a useful marker for predicting outcomes following treatment for prostate cancer but, given the evolving nature of prostate cancer, there is an ongoing need to refine its use. We assessed preoperative PSA doubling time (PSADT) and PSA velocity (PSAV) as predictors of outcome following radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We identified 2,290 men who were treated with RRP for prostate cancer between 1990 and 1999 with multiple preoperative PSA measurements available. PSADT was calculated by log linear regression and PSAV was calculated by linear regression. These parameters were used in preoperative and postoperative multivariate models for the end points of biochemical and clinical progression, and cancer death. RESULTS: At a median followup of 7.1 years (range 0.1 to 14.5) biochemical progression, clinical progression and death from prostate cancer were observed in 583, 156 and 42 patients, respectively. The HR for death from prostate cancer was 6.22 (95% CI 3.33 to 11.61) in men with PSADT less than 18 months vs 18 or greater and 6.54 (95% CI 3.51 to 12.19) in men with PSAV greater than 3.4 ng/ml yearly vs 3.4 or less. On multivariate analysis adjusting for preoperative or postoperative variables PSADT and PSAV remained significant predictors of each outcome. When assessed jointly, PSAV was significant as a predictor of biochemical progression, while PSADT was a significant predictor of clinical progression and cancer death. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms the usefulness of preoperative PSA kinetics for predicting post-RRP outcomes, which may be useful for stratifying patients, so that rational management decisions can be made with respect to observation, intervention and adjuvant treatment. While PSADT maybe biologically more accurate and stronger on multivariate analysis, PSAV is clinically easier to use and a good approximation in the short term.

Adult↗

Radical prostatectomy for clinically advanced (cT3) prostate cancer since the advent of prostate-specific antigen testing: 15-year outcome.

UNLABELLED: In the first paper in this section, authors from the Mayo Clinic describe their experience and 15-year outcomes in the controversial subject of radical prostatectomy in patients with clinical T3 prostate cancer. The findings were interesting in many respects, but the authors concluded that radical prostatectomy as part of multimodal treatment for patients with clinical T3 disease offers cancer control and good survival rates. There follows a series of papers on both prostate cancer and bladder cancer, but the final paper in this section from the UK attempts to define the accuracy of urologists and oncologists in assessing patient life-expectancy. Using various methods they found that, rather disappointingly, doctors were poor at predicting 10-year survival, leading to the possible outcome that some patients may be denied treatment after a pessimistic assessment of life-expectancy. OBJECTIVE: To report a long-term experience with extirpative surgery in patients presenting with locally advanced (cT3) prostate cancer, as the best management of such patients remains a problem. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a single-institution retrospective study identifying 5652 men who had radical prostatectomy (RP) for histologically confirmed prostate cancer since the advent of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing (1987-97), 15% (842) had RP for cT3 disease. The median follow-up of these men was 10.3 years. Cancer-specific, overall and disease-free survival was plotted and compared with those of patients having RP for cT2 disease during the same period. Perioperative morbidity, continence and erectile function rates were examined, with a multivariate analysis for risk factors of disease recurrence. RESULTS: Freedom from local or systemic disease at 5, 10, and 15 years after RP for cT3 disease was 85%, 73% and 67%; the respective cancer-specific survival rates were 95%, 90% and 79%. Significantly many men who did not receive neoadjuvant therapy (27%) were clinically over-staged (pT2) and most men with pT3 disease (78%) received adjuvant therapy. The mean time to adjuvant therapy after RP was not significantly different between men with cT3 and cT2 disease (4.0 and 4.3 years). Pathological grade (> or =7), positive surgical margins, and nondiploid chromatin were all independently associated with a significant risk for clinical disease recurrence, while preoperative PSA level had little effect on outcome. Complications and continence rates after RP in patients with cT3 mirrored those in patients with cT2 disease. CONCLUSIONS: Significantly many patients with cT3 prostate cancer are overstaged (pT2) in the PSA era. RP as part of a multimodal treatment strategy for patients with cT3 disease offers cancer control and survival rates approaching those achieved for cT2 disease. Pathological grade, ploidy and margin status are all significant predictors of outcome after RP. Complications and incontinence rates in patients with cT3 disease mirror those after RP for cT2 disease.

Aged↗

Surgical treatment of stage pT3b renal cell carcinoma in solitary kidneys: a case series.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the surgical management of patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in a solitary kidney (managed preferentially by nephron-sparing surgery, NSS, to avoid dialysis) and extending into the renal vein or inferior vena cava (T3b). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We identified 13 patients treated surgically between 1977 and 2002 for stage T3b RCC in a solitary kidney; their charts were reviewed to ascertain details of management, pathology and outcomes. RESULTS: NSS was successful in seven patients (four in situ and three extracorporeally). Five patients had radical nephrectomy (RN), four after failed NSS. The mean (sem) operative duration was longer for NSS, at 5.8 (0.7) h, than RN, at 3.3 (0.6) h. There was one death during surgery before nephrectomy, and eight other complications in six patients. At a median (range) follow-up of 24 (0-204) months, eight patients had died, four from RCC (all having had NSS) at a median interval of 9.5 (7-16) months. Of the five patients alive at a median follow-up of 25 months, four had no identifiable disease, whilst one had systemic recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: NSS combined with venous tumour thrombectomy for treating T3b RCC involving a solitary kidney is feasible, albeit complicated. There was oncological success in a third of the patients. The treatment of these patients needs to be individualized, as alternatives to NSS (RN or observation) have obvious disadvantages.

Adult↗

Costimulatory B7-H1 in renal cell carcinoma patients: Indicator of tumor aggressiveness and potential therapeutic target.

Expression of B7-H1, a costimulating glycoprotein in the B7 family, is normally restricted to macrophage-lineage cells, providing a potential costimulatory signal source for regulation of T cell activation. In contrast, aberrant expression of B7-H1 by tumor cells has been implicated in impairment of T cell function and survival, resulting in defective host antitumoral immunity. The relationship between tumor-associated B7-H1 and clinical cancer progression is unknown. Herein, we report B7-H1 expression by both renal cell carcinoma (RCC) tumors of the kidney and RCC tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. In addition, our analysis of 196 clinical specimens reveals that patients harboring high intratumoral expression levels of B7-H1, contributed by tumor cells alone, lymphocytes alone, or tumor and/or lymphocytes combined, exhibit aggressive tumors and are at markedly increased risk of death from RCC. In fact, patients with high tumor and/or lymphocyte B7-H1 levels are 4.5 times more likely to die from their cancer than patients exhibiting low levels of B7-H1 expression (risk ratio 4.53; 95% confidence interval 1.94-10.56; P < 0.001.) Thus, our study suggests a previously undescribed mechanism whereby RCC may impair host immunity to foster tumor progression. B7-H1 may prove useful as a prognostic variable for RCC patients both pre- and posttreatment. In addition, B7-H1 may represent a promising target to facilitate more favorable responses in patients who require immunotherapy for treatment of advanced RCC.

Antigens, CD↗

Prognostic value of p53 and MIB-1 in transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder with regional lymph node involvement.

BACKGROUND: The effect of p53 protein expression and MIB-1 proliferative activity on survival and chemotherapeutic response in patients with lymph node (LN)-positive transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the urinary bladder remains unclear. The objective of this study was to assess the ability of these markers to predict disease-associated outcomes and response to chemotherapy in a cohort of patients with LN-positive TCC. METHODS: The authors examined the expression of p53 and MIB-1 in the LN metastases from 139 patients who underwent cystectomy for TCC at their institution. P53 and MIB-1 nuclear staining were quantified using an image-analysis system. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to test associations of these markers with death from TCC, distant metastases, and local recurrence for all patients and in the subset of patients who were treated with adjuvant chemotherapy. RESULTS: The median p53 and MIB-1 indices were 45.2% and 30.3%, respectively. The median follow-up was 4.5 years (range, 0.1-10 years). There were no statistically significant associations noted between the p53 and MIB-1 indices and the outcomes studied. When the analysis was limited to patients who were treated with adjuvant chemotherapy (n = 37 patients), the p53 index was found to have no prognostic value; however, there was a significant association between MIB-1 and distant metastases (P = 0.049). When disease-specific survival rates were stratified according to p53 index and chemotherapy, patients exhibited a response to chemotherapy regardless of p53 index. CONCLUSIONS: p53 and MIB-1 were not found to be associated significantly with disease-related outcomes in patients with LN-positive TCC. Adjuvant chemotherapy appeared to be effective regardless of p53 status. MIB-1 may prove useful in predicting response to chemotherapy.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗

Long-term survival of patients with unilateral sporadic multifocal renal cell carcinoma according to histologic subtype compared with patients with solitary tumors after radical nephrectomy.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the pathologic features, including histologic subtype and tumor size, associated with multifocal renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and the impact of multifocality on survival after radical nephrectomy, about which controversy exists. METHODS: We studied 2373 patients who underwent radical nephrectomy for RCC from 1970 to 2000. Histologic subtype, stage (2003 TNM), nuclear grade, tumor size, and multifocality, defined as the presence of more than one ipsilateral RCC tumor of the same histologic subtype, were evaluated. Associations of multifocality with ipsilateral and contralateral recurrence and death from RCC were evaluated using Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: The incidence of sporadic histologically concordant multifocality was greater in papillary RCC (29 of 266; 10.9%) compared with clear cell RCC (40 of 1934; 2.0%; P <0.001) and chromophobe RCC (2 of 104; 1.9%; P = 0.005). Patients with solitary clear cell and papillary RCC had larger tumors compared with multifocal clear cell and papillary RCC (P <0.001 and P = 0.024, respectively). Patients with multifocal clear cell RCC were more likely to have a contralateral recurrence than were patients with solitary clear cell RCC (risk ratio 2.91, P = 0.142). Multifocality was not significantly associated with ipsilateral recurrence or death from RCC in patients with clear cell or papillary RCC. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of multifocality was significantly greater among patients with papillary RCC than among patients with clear cell or chromophobe RCC. Patients with multifocal clear cell RCC were more likely to experience a contralateral recurrence. Multifocality was not significantly associated with ipsilateral recurrence or death from RCC. In addition, multifocality was not associated with larger and higher stage tumors, as previously reported.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma: an examination of underlying histologic subtype and an analysis of associations with patient outcome.

A sarcomatoid component can occur in all histologic subtypes of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and indicates an aggressive tumor. We studied 2381 patients treated with radical nephrectomy for RCC between 1970 and 2000. A urologic pathologist reviewed the microscopic slides from all tumor specimens for the presence of a sarcomatoid component, defined as a RCC with any malignant spindle cell component. All tumors with a sarcomatoid component were classified as nuclear grade 4. A total of 120 (5.0%) patients had RCC with a sarcomatoid component, including 94 who died of RCC at a mean of 1.4 years following nephrectomy (median 8 months; range 44 days to 10 years). Cancer-specific survival rates at 2 and 5 years following nephrectomy were 33.3% and 14.5%, respectively. The presence of distant metastases at the radical nephrectomy and histologic tumor necrosis were significantly associated with death from RCC among patients with sarcomatoid RCC. Patients with clear cell (conventional) RCC and chromophobe RCC were more likely to have tumors with a sarcomatoid component (5.2% and 8.7%, respectively) compared with patients with papillary RCC (1.9%). The presence of a sarcomatoid component was significantly associated with death from RCC for all three subtypes (P < 0.001). Even among patients with grade 4 clear cell RCC, the presence of a sarcomatoid component was significantly associated with outcome, both univariately (risk ratio 1.59; P = 0.010) and after adjusting for TNM stage, tumor size, and histologic tumor necrosis (risk ratio 1.46; P = 0.037).

Adult↗

Outcome of surgical treatment for primary malignant melanoma of the female urethra.

PURPOSE: We evaluate tumor characteristics, recurrence and survival following surgical treatment for female urethral melanoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A review of the records of all female patients with primary localized urethral melanoma (11, mean age 68 years) who underwent partial urethrectomy or radical extirpation from 1950 to 1999 was performed to determine disease specific survival and/or tumor characteristics correlating with survival. Clinical and pathological stage, tumor location, nodal status, adjuvant therapy and tumor pathological components including depth, width, necrosis and vascular/lymphatic invasion, were evaluated. Overall disease recurrence, crude and disease specific survival rates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: Malignant melanoma occurred in the distal urethra in all 11 cases with local extension into the vagina (T3) in 7. Mean depth of invasion was 6.1 mm and mean tumor width was 2.0 cm. No vascular/lymphatic invasion or tumor necrosis was seen pathologically. No patient had received adjuvant therapy at the time of initial surgery. There were 7 recurrences (6 of 7 within 1 year postoperatively). Of the 7 cases of partial urethrectomy, urethral recurrence (1 with concurrent lung metastasis) developed in 5 and none had bladder recurrence. Those who underwent radical surgery had recurrence in the pelvis and lungs and inguinal lymph nodes. Crude and disease specific survival +/- standard error at 3 years was 27 +/- 15% and 38 +/- 19%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Primary female urethral melanoma is associated with a rapid and high local recurrence rate (60% at 1 year). Overall and cancer specific survival at 3 years is 27% and 38%, respectively. Local failure may in part be due to inadequate resection.

Aged↗

Nephron sparing surgery for appropriately selected renal cell carcinoma between 4 and 7 cm results in outcome similar to radical nephrectomy.

PURPOSE: We compared outcomes between patients treated with nephron sparing surgery (NSS) without imperative indications for renal preservation and radical nephrectomy (RN) for 4 to 7 cm renal cell carcinoma (RCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We identified 91 patients treated with NSS and 841 patients treated with RN for 4 to 7 cm RCC between 1970 and 2000. Cancer specific, distant metastases-free and recurrence-free survivals were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: Cancer specific survival rates at 5 years for patients treated with NSS and RN for 4 to 7 cm RCC were 98% and 86%, respectively. On univariate analysis patients treated with RN for 4 to 7 cm RCC were more likely to die of RCC compared to patients treated with NSS. However, after adjusting for features associated with death from RCC including stage, grade, histological tumor necrosis and histological subtype, this difference was no longer statistically significant (risk ratio 1.60, 95% CI 0.50-5.12, p = 0.430). Distant metastases-free survival rates at 5 years for patients treated with NSS and RN were 94% and 83%, respectively. On univariate analysis patients treated with RN were more likely to have tumors that metastasized compared to patients treated with NSS, although this difference was no longer significant after adjusting for the features listed previously (risk ratio 1.76, 95% CI 0.64-4.83, p = 0.273). Recurrence-free survival rates at 5 years for patients treated with NSS and RN were 94% and 98%, respectively. On univariate analysis patients treated with RN were less likely to have recurrence compared to patients treated with NSS (risk ratio 0.32, 95% CI 0.12-0.85, p = 0.022). CONCLUSIONS: There were no statistically significant differences in cancer specific survival and distant metastases-free survival between patients treated with NSS and RN for 4 to 7 cm RCC after adjusting for important pathological features. NSS for 4 to 7 cm RCC results in excellent outcome in appropriately selected patients.

Adult↗

A protocol for performing extended lymph node dissection using primary tumor pathological features for patients treated with radical nephrectomy for clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

PURPOSE: We determined the primary pathological features of clear cell renal cell carcinoma that are predictive of positive regional lymph nodes at radical nephrectomy (RN) and developed a protocol for the selective use of extended lymph node dissection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 1,652 patients who underwent RN for unilateral pM0 sporadic clear cell renal cell carcinoma between 1970 and 2000. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to determine the pathological features of the primary tumor that were associated with positive regional lymph nodes at RN. RESULTS: There were 887 (54%) patients with no positive nodes (pN0), 57 (3%) with 1 positive node (pN1), 11 (1%) with 2 or more positive nodes (pN2) and 697 (42%) who did not have any lymph nodes dissected (pNx). Nuclear grade 3 or 4 (p <0.001), presence of a sarcomatoid component (p <0.001), tumor size 10 cm or greater (p = 0.005), tumor stage pT3 or pT4 (p = 0.017) and histological tumor necrosis (p = 0.051) were significantly associated with positive regional lymph nodes in a multivariate setting. These features can be used to identify candidates for extended lymph node dissection at the time of RN. For example, only 6 (0.6%) of the 1,031 patients with 0 or 1 of these features had positive lymph nodes at RN compared with 62 (10%) of the 621 patients with at least 2 of these features. CONCLUSIONS: The primary tumor pathological features of nuclear grade, sarcomatoid component, tumor size, stage and presence of tumor necrosis can be used to predict patients at the greatest risk for regional lymph node involvement at RN.

Adult↗

The impact of surgical approach (nerve bundle preservation versus wide local excision) on surgical margins and biochemical recurrence following radical prostatectomy.

PURPOSE: Surgical margin (SM) status is widely reported as a significant risk factor for prostate cancer recurrence following radical prostatectomy (RP). It has been presupposed that preserving the neurovascular bundle may compromise cancer control due to the limited surgical margin obtained with a resultant increase in treatment failure. We examined whether neurovascular bundle preservation during RP is a risk factor for positive SMs and progression-free survival after adjusting for disease severity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Outcomes following RP in 7,268 men between 1990 and 2000 were examined retrospectively. Median followup in those last known to be alive is 6.4 years. RP was performed by a total of 21 surgeons in the same basic fashion with strict attention to anatomical detail. RESULTS: Overall a positive SM was identified in 38% of patients. The positive SM rate was higher for wide excision than for nerve sparing (NS) (42% vs 34%) (p </= 0.001). The OR for positive SMs in patients undergoing NS-RP was 0.86 (95% CI 0.76 to 0.97, p = 0.012) after incorporating age, clinical stage, biopsy grade, year of surgery and prostate specific antigen. Similarly NS-RP had no significant impact on biochemical progression rates after controlling for these variables (HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.88 to 1.08, p = 0.64). CONCLUSIONS: NS-RP is not an independent adverse risk factor for positive SMs or progression-free survival. Tumor biology appears set prior to technically skilled anatomical radical prostatectomy independent of wide excision of the neurovascular bundles. All patients with organ confined prostate cancer should be considered candidates for an NS operation.

Aged↗

Prostate specific antigen doubling time subsequent to radical prostatectomy as a prognosticator of outcome following salvage radiotherapy.

PURPOSE: Therapy for men with detectable prostate specific antigen (PSA) following radical prostatectomy (RP) for prostate cancer remains controversial. Salvage radiotherapy (SRT) is commonly used because of its relatively low morbidity. We present a single institution retrospective review of patients treated with SRT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A longitudinal cohort study (between April 1987 and April 2000) using the referral based Mayo Clinic Prostate Cancer Registry was conducted. A total of 211 patients were included in this study if detectable serum PSA was the sole indication for SRT and no hormonal therapy was administered. RESULTS: Median followup from surgery to death or last followup was 7.2 years, from RP to SRT was 1.7 years and from SRT to last contact was 4.2 years. Median PSA and prostate specific antigen doubling time (PSADT) at SRT initiation was 0.60 ng/ml and 7.32 months; respectively. Of the patients 90% had nadir PSA less than 0.4 ng/ml within 3 years of SRT. Biochemical disease-free rates at 5 years for PSADT less than 12 or 12 months or greater was 48% and 66%; respectively (p = 0.080). By 10 years there was no significant difference in biochemical disease-free rate (34% vs 35%). Clinical metastasis (10% and 29%) developed in patients with a PSADT less than 12 months at a significantly higher rate than in patients with a PSADT of 12 months or more (0% and 17%, p = 0.045) at 5 and 10 years, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed pre-SRT PSADT (less than 12 months, H.R. 3.88, p = 0.032), seminal vesicle invasion (H.R. 3.22, p = 0.008), pathological grade (H.R. 1.58, p = 0.023) and PSA at SRT (H.R. 1.29 for a 2-fold increase, p = 0.044) to be significant independent predictors of clinical recurrence. The interval from RP to SRT did not add to the model (p = 0.22). CONCLUSIONS: A biochemical response can be expected in the majority of patients within 3 years of receiving SRT. Patients with a pre-SRT PSADT of 1 year or less have a less sustained biochemical response to SRT than patients with a PSADT greater than 1, yet the majority of patients appear to receive long-term benefit from this adjunctive therapy. PSADT is an independent predictor of biochemical and clinical disease recurrence following SRT.

Aged↗