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Prostate cancer remains a significant health problem worldwide and is the second highest cause of cancer-related death in men. While there is uncertainty over which men will benefit from radical treatment, considerable efforts are being made to reduce treatment related side-effects and in optimizing outcomes. The current gold standard treatment for localized prostate cancer remains open radical prostatectomy. Since the early 1990s, several teams have tried to explore less invasive surgical access. The first robotically assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) case was reported in 2000. Enhancement of the ergonomics and optimization of the surgical vision provided by the robotic interface are some of the reasons that explain the worldwide wide spread of RALP. Although this procedure accounted for the vast majority of radical prostatectomies performed in United States, its diffusion is still limited in Europe. The cost for robot purchase and maintenance are obvious limiting factors for its expansion. According to the literature, the operating time and the blood loss are, once the learning curve is completed, similar to those of open or laparoscopic procedures. Hospital stay and time before bladder catheter removal are shorter compared with other approaches. Intermediate oncologic and functional outcomes do not show difference with the open or laparoscopic results. Given that these data are encouraging, the limited follow-up with RALP does not allow drawing any definitive statement in comparison with conventional techniques. The aim of our study was to underline the perioperative, oncologic, and functional outcomes of all extraperitoneal RALP series published., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Outcomes of continence, erectile function, and oncologic control are well-described in isolation especially for the retropubic open approach. However, only few series have yet reported combined results after radical prostatectomy. To determine the proportion of men who are continent, potent, and cancer-free (trifecta rate) 2 years after robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALRP)., Materials and Methods: We included patients who underwent a RALRP at our department and who were followed during at least 2 years. Men who were impotent or incontinent before the surgery were excluded from the analysis. Overall, 500 men were included. All patients prospectively completed validated questionnaires (IIEF-5, ICS) before the medical visit and concerning their voiding and sexual disorders, preoperatively, 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after RALRP. Biochemical recurrence was defined as any detectable serum PSA (≥ 0.2 ng/ml). The study end point was the trifecta rate (cancer control, continence, and potency) at 2 years of the surgery. Predictive factors of the trifecta outcome were assessed in univariate and multivariate analyses., Results: Median age and PSA level were 62.2 years and 9.7 ng/mL. A trifecta outcome was achieved in 44% and 53% of men at 12 and 24 months, respectively. The 2-year trifecta rate reached 62% in men undergoing bilateral nerve-sparing surgery and 71% in men < 60 years. Age < 60 years, PSA level < 10 ng/ml, organ-confined disease, and bilateral nerve-sparing procedure were significantly associated with the 2-year trifecta outcome., Conclusion: Two years after RALRP, the trifecta outcome is achieved in 53% of preoperatively potent and continent men., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Unlabelled: Study Type - Diagnostic (exploratory cohort) Level of Evidence 2b What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? PCA3 scores correlate to numerous histoprognostic factors, specifically tumour volume and positive surgical margins. These results may have a clinical impact in the near future on the selection of patients eligible to undergo active surveillance and nerve-sparing surgery., Objective: To assess correlations between Prostate CAncer gene 3 (PCA3) levels and pathological features of radical prostatectomy (RP) specimens, which define cancer aggressiveness., Patients and Methods: After digital rectal examination (DRE), first-catch urine was collected from 160 patients with localized prostate cancer. The PCA3 score was calculated using the Gene Probe Progensa(™) assay. PCA3 scores were then correlated to the pathological features of the RP specimens., Results: PCA3 scores correlated significantly with tumour volume (r= 0.34, P < 0.01). A PCA3 score of >35 was an independent predictor in a multivariate analysis of a tumour volume >0.5 mL (odds ratio [OR] 2.7, P= 0.04). It was also an independent predictor of positive surgical margins (OR 2.4, P= 0.04). Receiver-operator characteristic curves indicated PCA3 as the most accurate predictor of positive margins (area under the curve [AUC] 0.62), in addition to a positive biopsy percentage (AUC 0.52). There was also a significant difference in the mean PCA3 score between Gleason score patient groups (6 vs ≥ 7) and pathological stage groups (pT0/2 vs pT3/4)., Conclusions: PCA3 scores correlate to numerous histoprognostic factors, specifically tumour volume and positive surgical margins. These results may have a clinical impact in the near future on the selection of patients eligible to undergo active surveillance and nerve-sparing surgery., (© 2012 BJU INTERNATIONAL.)

Objective: • To investigate the relationship between pretreatment testosterone levels and pathological specimen characteristics, by prospectively examining serum androgen concentrations in a well-studied cohort of patients who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP) for localized prostate cancer., Patients and Methods: • A total of 107 patients with clinically localized prostate cancer had an assay of total testosterone before laparoscopic RP at our institution. • The results were classified into two groups based on the total serum testosterone: group1, < 3 ng/mL; group 2, ≥ 3 ng/mL. • Student's t-test was used to compare continuous variables, and Fisher's exact test or the chi-squared test was used to compare categorical variables. • Survival curves were established using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. In all tests, P < 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance., Results: • All patients had localized prostate cancer based on digital rectal examination (DRE) and preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Groups 1 and 2 were similar in terms of age, body mass index, preoperative co-morbidities (cardiovascular and diabetes mellitus), clinical stage of prostate cancer and preoperative PSA levels. • In pathological specimens, low total testosterone (< 3 ng/mL) was an independent risk factor for high Gleason score (> 7) and for locally advanced pathological stage (pT3 and pT4). • Higher preoperative testosterone correlated with disease confined to the gland. • There was no association between serum testosterone levels and surgical margin status, on the one hand, and biochemical recurrence on the other., Conclusion: • Low serum testosterone appears to be predictive of aggressive disease (Gleason score >7 and extraprostatic disease, pathological stage > pT2) in patients who underwent RP for localized prostate cancer., (© 2010 THE AUTHORS. BJU INTERNATIONAL © 2010 BJU INTERNATIONAL.)

Objective: To analyze pathological data of the radical prostatectomy specimen in patients operated for clinically-localized prostate cancer and who meet strict criteria for active surveillance necessary to be included in the French trial SURACAP., Patients and Methods: The data of patients who underwent a radical prostatectomy at our institution between 1998 and 2010 were reviewed. We only included the patients that met the usual criteria for active surveillance: clinical stage T1-2a tumor, PSA ≤ 10 ng/mL, biopsy Gleason sum inferior or equal to 6 with no pattern of grade 4 or 5, cancer involvement inferior or equal to two biopsy cores, inferior to 3 mm of malignant tissue in each positive biopsy core. From them, only those who were diagnosed from a second line biopsies cores were included for further analysis., Results: Overall, 48 patient who met the "SURACAP" criteria had a laparoscopic radical prostatectomy at out institution. Mean age was 65.4 years. The mean preoperative PSA was 6.1 ng/mL. Clinical stage of the tumor was T1c in 95% of patients and T2a in 5%. Biopsy Gleason score was 6 (3+3) in 100%. Pathological analysis of the surgical specimen showed that 19% of patients had a seminal vesicle invasion or an extracapsular extension. The Gleason score of the pathological specimen was 6 (3+3) in 57% of patients, 7 (3+4) in 38% and 8 (4+4) in 5% of patients. The Gleason score upgrading was 43% of patients., Conclusion: In our experience, 19% of patients who meet the criteria for active surveillance show an extracapsular extension or a seminal vesicle invasion on pathological analysis. Active surveillance is still under evaluation., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

The first objective of radical prostatectomy is cancer control. However, the success of RP should be also measured by the long-term morbidity outcomes and by the maintenance of quality of life. We performed a review of the literature for combined results of continence, erectile function, and cancer control after radical prostatectomy. Since 2003 and the first report of "trifecta," only 7 series have yet reported such combined results (trifecta rate range: 20%-76%). The preoperative risk (D'Amico) predicted for quality of life outcomes and biochemical recurrence is an aggregate endpoint, the trifecta., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Compare three surgical approach procedures of total prostatectomy (retropubic, transperitoneal laparoscopic and robot-assisted laparoscopic), about technical, oncological and functional results., Methods: Eighty-six patients had a total prostatectomy for localized cancer, in a unique center, performed by two expert surgeons, on a 16-months-period. Twenty nine had a retropubic, 23 a transperitoneal laparoscopic and 34 a robot-assisted (Da Vinci) surgical approach. Retrospectively, operative time, blood loss, per- and postoperative complications, duration of catheterization, length of hospital stay, in each group had been compared. The positive margin rates, the PSA levels at one and six months postoperative had been compared. The continence has also been evaluated at six months., Results: The three groups are comparable even if the median age is significatively lower in the retropubic group (p=0.018). Duration of catheter (p<2.2 x 10(-16)), blood loss (p<3.12 x 10(-5)) and operative times support significatively the laparscopic approaches, clearer the conventional than the robot-assisted one. No significative difference has been shown about positive margin rates, even if it's higher in the robot-assisted group (p=0.37). Finally, the continence rate is quite higher in the laparoscopic groups without statistic significativity (76 % retropubic versus 96.8 % laparoscopic and 85.3 % robot-assisted)., Conclusions: The conventional laparoscopic and robot-assisted approaches seem to present technical advantages. Nevertheless, pathologic results are shader: the positive margin rate in the robot-assisted group is higher, in particular regarding to pT2. These results are concordant with the available datas of the literature.