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Objectives: The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC)/Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) 8th edition has proposed micrometastasis as a lymph node metastasis (LN+) of diameter ≤2 mm in prostate cancer. However, supporting evidence has not described. We evaluated LN+ patients' survival after radical prostatectomy (RP) based on the LN maximum tumor diameter (MTD). Methods: Data from 561 LN+ patients after RP and pelvic LN dissection (PLND) treated between 2006 and 2019 at 33 institutions were retrospectively investigated. Patients were stratified by a LN+ MTD cutoff of 2 mm. Outcomes included castration resistance‐free survival (CRFS), metastasis‐free survival (MFS), cancer‐specific survival (CSS), and overall survival (OS). Results: In total, 282 patients were divided into two groups (LN+ MTD >2 mm [n = 206] and ≤2 mm [n = 76]). Patients of LN+ status >2 mm exhibited significantly decreased CRFS and MFS, and poorer CSS and OS. No patients developed CRPC in the LN+ status ≤2 mm group when the PLND number was ≥14. Multivariate analysis showed the number of LN removed, RP Gleason pattern 5, and MTD in LN+ significantly predicted CRFS. Conclusions: Patients of LN+ status ≤2 mm showed better prognoses after RP. In all the patients in the ≤2‐mm group, the progression to CRPC could be prevented with appropriate interventions, particularly when PLND is performed accurately. Our findings support the utility of the pN substaging proposed by the AJCC/UICC 8th edition; this will facilitate precision medicine for patients with advanced prostate cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The use of radical prostatectomy is increasing with the rising incidence of prostate cancer. We assessed the surgical trends related to radical prostatectomy using data from a multi‐center, retrospective cohort study, the MICAN (Medical Investigation Cancer Network) study, which was conducted in all the urology‐related medical facilities in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. Methods: We compared data from the MICAN study with prostate biopsy registry data collected in Ehime between 2010 and 2020 and recorded the surgical trends. Results: There was a significant increase in the mean age of patients with positive biopsies, and the positivity rate increased from 46.3% in 2010 to 60.5% in 2020, while the number of biopsies obtained decreased. The number of radical prostatectomies performed increased over the years, with robot‐assisted radical prostatectomy becoming the predominant procedure. In 2020, robot‐assisted radical prostatectomies accounted for 96.0% of the surgeries performed. The age at surgery also gradually increased. Of the registered patients aged ≤75 years, 40.5% underwent surgery in 2010, compared with 83.1% in 2020. The prevalence of surgery also increased from 4.6% to 29.8% in patients aged >75 years. There was a gradual increase in the proportion of high‐risk cases, from 29.3% to 44.0%, but a decrease in that of low‐risk cases, from 23.8% in 2010 to 11.4% in 2020. Conclusions: We have shown that the number of radical prostatectomies performed in Ehime is increasing in patients aged both ≤75 and >75 years. The proportion of low‐risk cases has decreased, while that of high‐risk cases has increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study was performed to examine patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in the 1st year after surgery and the institutional learning curve after the introduction of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). Materials and Methods: The subjects were 320 consecutive patients who underwent RARP from 2014 to 2018. These cases were divided into three groups treated in the early, middle, and late periods, with about 100 cases in each. PROs were recorded using the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC). Results: There were no significant differences among the early, middle, and late periods based on EPIC scores. Urinary function and bother decreased in the 1st month after surgery, and gradually recovered thereafter. However, urinary function was significantly worse in the 1st year after surgery than at baseline. Urinary function and bother were better in patients treated with nerve-sparing surgery, and in nerve-sparing cases, urinary function and bother were best in the early period and worst in the late period. These cases also had the best score for sexual function in the early period, but sexual bother was worst in the early period. In contrast, in cases treated without nerve-sparing surgery, urinary function and bother were best in the late period and worst in the early period, although without significant differences. Conclusion: The functional results of this study based on PROs are useful for providing information for patients. Interestingly, the institutional learning curves for RARP differed in cases that did and did not undergo a nerve-sparing procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the pathological findings and oncological outcomes of deferred radical prostatectomy in patients who initially elected for active surveillance in a Japanese cohort. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data collected from a multi-institutional prospective observational cohort of the Prostate Cancer Research International: Active Surveillance-JAPAN study between January 2010 and September 2020. Triggers for radical prostatectomy were disease progression based on pathological findings of repeat biopsy and patients' request. The primary end point was evaluation of prostate-specific antigen recurrence-free survival. Secondary end points were overall survival and comparison of pathological and oncological outcomes between patients stratified into immediate or late radical prostatectomy group by time to radical prostatectomy. Results: Overall, 162 patients (15.7%) with prostate cancer underwent initial active surveillance followed by radical prostatectomy. The median time to radical prostatectomy was 18 months (interquartile range 14–43.3), and the median postoperative follow-up was 32 months (interquartile range 14–57.5). Prostate-specific antigen recurrence was observed in eight patients (4.9%). The 3-year prostate-specific antigen recurrence-free survival rate was 96.9%. The 5-year overall survival rate was 100%; however, one patient died of another cause. There were no significant differences in pathological findings between immediate and late radical prostatectomy groups. No significant difference in prostate-specific antigen recurrence-free survival was found between the two groups (log-rank p = 0.34). Conclusions: Radical prostatectomy after active surveillance, as an initial treatment option, does not lead to loss of curative chances in Japanese patients with early-stage prostate cancer in the short follow-up period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To improve the perioperative care for radical prostatectomy patients at a multi-institutional level and practice. Methods A prospective multi-institutional study involving 50 hospitals was carried out in cooperation with the Japanese Society of Endourology. As the first step, a consensus meeting was held to establish a standardized perioperative care plan. Second, the clinical pathways were individually developed and revised according to the standardized care plan in each of the participating hospitals. Patterns of perioperative care, including preoperative hospital stay, resuming meals and ambulation, removal of pelvic drain and urethral catheter, antimicrobial administration, and postoperative hospital stay, were compared before (2007) and after developing/revising pathways (2009). Furthermore, actual practice and complications before and after implementing the pathways were investigated. Results Except for resuming ambulation, all perioperative pathways were significantly shortened with the adoption of the newly defined clinical pathway ( P < 0.001). Furthermore, all settings except for postoperative hospital stay significantly decreased in terms of variance ( P < 0.002). In 2009, the overall complication rate significantly decreased ( P < 0.001), and all of the outcomes except urethral catheter removal were also significantly shortened ( P ≤ 0.008) and decreased in variance after implementation of the new pathways ( P ≤ 0.006). In multivariate analyses, implementation of the refined clinical pathways was an important factor to improve perioperative care. Conclusions When standardized goals in perioperative care are recommended to hospitals and care plans are developed/revised in individual hospitals, both settings and practice are significantly improved. It is to be investigated whether a similar intervention could be useful to achieve a standardization of surgical pathway for other diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To examine the association between cancer location, resection margins and oncological outcome in patients undergoing radical prostatectomy. Methods: A total of 505 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy between 1993 and 2009 were included in this analysis. Cancer location, resection margins and pathological factors were assessed based on the 2010 General Rules for Clinical and Pathological Studies on Prostate Cancer. Biochemical recurrence was defined as prostate-specific antigen >0.2 ng/mL. Results: Positive resection margins were found in 38.4% of all cases, in 30.3% of pT2 cases and in 57.7% of pT3 cases. The cancer was distributed evenly among the apex-anterior, apex-posterior and middle lesions, which each accounted for approximately 30% of the whole lesion in the main tumor. A higher rate of positive resection margins (47.6%) was found in the apex-anterior lesions. In minor tumors, most cancer was located in the middle lesion and accounted for approximately 60% of the lesion. However, positive resection margins were detected significantly more frequently in the apex-anterior lesion of minor tumors. The 5-year and 10-year biochemical recurrence-free survival rates were 36.2% and 32.0%, respectively, in patients with a positive resection margin, and 82.7% and 77.4%, respectively, in those with a negative resection margin. Cancer location was an independent risk factor for biochemical recurrence and a positive resection margin. Recurrence-free survival was lower in pT2 cases with a positive resection margin compared with pT3 cases with a negative resection margin. Conclusions: Cancer location and occurrence of positive resection margins can have negative effects on recurrence-free survival. Thus, it is of utmost importance to avoid positive resection margins during radical prostatectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No standard therapy has been established for localised prostate cancer patients with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) failure after radical prostatectomy (RP). To determine whether radiotherapy ± hormone therapy is superior to hormone therapy alone in such patients. This study is a multicentre, randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial. Patients with localised prostate cancer whose PSA concentrations had decreased to <0.1 ng/ml after RP, and then increased to 0.4–1.0 ng/ml, were randomised to the salvage hormone therapy (SHT) group (80 mg bicalutamide [BCL] followed by luteinising hormone-releasing hormone agonist in case of BCL failure) or the salvage radiation therapy (SRT) ± SHT group (64.8 Gy of SRT followed by the same regimen as in the SHT group in case of SRT failure). From May 2004 to May 2011, 210 patients (105 in each arm) were registered, with the median follow-up being 5.5 yr. The primary endpoint was time to treatment failure (TTF) of BCL. TTF of BCL was significantly longer in the SRT ± SHT group (8.6 yr) than in the SHT group (5.6 yr; hazard ratio 0.56, 90% confidence interval [0.40–0.77]; one-sided p = 0.001). Thirty-two of 102 patients (31%) in the SRT ± SHT group did not have SRT treatment failure. However, clinical relapse-free survival and overall survival did not differ between the arms. The most frequent grade 3–4 adverse event was erectile dysfunction (83 patients [80%] in the SHT group vs. 76 [74%] in the SRT ± SHT group). Limitations include the short follow-up periods and surrogate endpoint setting to allow definitive conclusions. Initial SRT prolongs TTF of BCL in patients with post-RP PSA failure, indicating that SRT ± SHT is more beneficial than SHT alone. Patients who have prostate-specific antigen failure after radical prostatectomy benefit from salvage radiation therapy prior to salvage hormone therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]