Search

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of body mass index (BMI) on overall survival, freedom from distant metastases, rates of therapeutic intervention (TI), and quality of life (QOL) in active surveillance (AS) prostate cancer patients., Materials and Methods: Three hundred forty consecutive, prospectively evaluated AS patients underwent a staging transperineal template-guided mapping biopsy before AS enrollment and were stratified by BMI (<25, 25 to 29.9, 30 to 34.9, and >35 kg/m2). Evaluated outcomes included overall survival, freedom from distant metastases, TI, QOL to include urinary, bowel, sexual function and depression and serial postvoid residual urine measurements. The relationship between BMI and anterior prostate cancer distribution was evaluated. Repeat biopsy was based on prostate specific antigen kinetics, abnormal digital rectal examination and patient preference., Results: Of the 340 patients, 323 (95%) were Gleason 3+3 and 17 patients (5.0%) were Gleason 3+4. The median follow-up was 5.2 years (range: 1 to 14 y). At 10 years, TI was instituted in 4.7%, 2.2%, 9.5%, and 25.0% of patients in BMI cohorts <25, 25 to 29.9, 30 to 34.9, and ≥35 (P=0.075). No patient has developed distant metastases. The median time to TI was 4.86 years. In multivariate analysis, TI was most closely predicted by prostate specific antigen density (P=0.071). At 8 years, no statistical differences in urinary function, bowel function, depression or postvoid residual were noted. However, a trend for erectile dysfunction was identified (P=0.106)., Conclusion: At 10 years, BMI did not statistically predict for TI, geographic distribution of prostate cancer or QOL parameters., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of age on overall survival (OS), freedom from distant metastasis (FDM), rates of therapeutic intervention (TI), and quality of life (QOL) in active surveillance (AS) prostate cancer patients., Materials and Methods: Three hundred and five consecutive, prospectively evaluated AS patients who underwent a staging transperineal template-guided mapping biopsy (TTMB) prior to enrollment on AS were evaluated and stratified by age. Evaluated outcomes included OS, FDM, TI, and QOL to include urinary, bowel, sexual function, and depression. Post void residual (PVR) urine measurements were also followed. Repeat biopsy was based on PSA kinetics, abnormal digital rectal examination or patient preference., Results: Of the 305 patients, 290 (95.1%) were Gleason 3 + 3 and 15 patients (4.9%) were Gleason 3 + 4. The median follow-up was 5.5 years (range 1-14 years). At 10 years, TI was 0%, 1.0%, and 11.4% for patients ≤59, 60-69, and ≥70 years of age ( P  < .001). No patient has developed distant metastasis. The median time to TI was 4.71 years. No statistical differences in urinary function, bowel function, or depression were noted. Potency preservation was dependent on patient age., Conclusion: Within the confines of the follow-up of our series, younger patients were less likely to proceed to therapeutic intervention. In addition, patient age did not adversely impact QOL outcomes., Competing Interests: None., (© 2020 The Authors. BJUI Compass published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of BJU International Company.)

Purpose: To evaluate active surveillance (AS) outcomes including overall survival (OS), freedom from distant metastases (FDM), freedom from therapeutic intervention (FTI), and quality of life (QOL) outcomes in prostate cancer patients using transperineal template-guided mapping biopsy (TTMB) for patient selection., Methods: From April 2005-January 2016, 226 consecutive, prospectively evaluated prostate cancer patients underwent TTMB for either low-grade prostate cancer or persistently elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and/or the presence of ASAP. Evaluated outcomes included OS, FDM, FTI and QOL including urinary, bowel, sexual function and depression. Repeat biopsy was based on PSA kinetics and/or abnormal digital rectal examination., Results: Of the 226 patients, 212 (93.8%) were Gleason 3 + 3 and 14 (6.2%) were Gleason 3 + 4. The median follow-up was 5.0 years (range 0.8-13.0 years). The mean prostate volume was 61.3 cm 3 with a mean of 59.5 TTMB cores/patient. At the time of AS enrollment, an average of 72.9 cores (TRUS + TTMB) had been obtained for each patient. At 8 years, OS, FTI and FDM were 92.5, 96.8 and 100%. Two hundred and twenty-two patients (98.2%) had a PSA doubling time of more than 3 years. No statistical changes in urinary function, bowel function or depression were noted. At 8 years, 73% of the patients maintained erectile function., Conclusion: Within the confines of the follow-up of this study, the use of TTMB for patient selection identifies a cohort of patients unlikely to develop biochemical or clinical progression and maintain a favorable quality of life.

Objectives: To determine the location and grade of prostate cancer diagnosed by transperineal template-guided mapping (TTMB) after negative transrectal ultrasound-guided (TRUS) biopsy., Materials and Methods: This analysis consisted of 1118 consecutive patients who underwent TTMB from January 2005 to August 2015. Eight hundred thirty-five underwent TTMB after at least 1 negative TRUS biopsy and 283 underwent TTMB as the first biopsy procedure. The study population was divided into cohorts based on the number of prior TRUS biopsy sessions (0, 1, 2, and ≥3). No patient underwent multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging. Differences in location and cancer grade detected on TTMB were evaluated as a function of the number of prior TRUS biopsies., Results: Of the 1118 patients, 679 were diagnosed with prostate cancer. This included 208, 325, 104, and 42 patients who underwent 0, 1, 2, and ≥3 prior TRUS biopsies. The incidence of cancer detection on TTMB decreased as the number of prior TRUS biopsies increased (73.5% vs. 62.4% vs. 51.7% vs. 37.2%, P<0.001); however, it became increasingly likely that TTMB would detect anterior prostate only as the number of prior TRUS biopsies increased (P=0.007). Moreover, the incidence of high grade cancer (Gleason score ≥7) in the anterior gland increased with the number of previous TRUS biopsies., Conclusions: TTMB detected prostate cancer in over half of the patients with one or more negative TRUS biopsies. The majority of TTMB detected cancers were Gleason score ≥7. As the number of prior TRUS biopsies increased, there was a commensurate increase in the proportion of high-grade, anterior only disease.

Objectives: To evaluate whether the use of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in prostate brachytherapy patients impacts overall mortality (OM) in patients with lower pretreatment serum testosterone levels compared with those with normal or high baseline serum testosterone., Materials and Methods: From October 2001 to May 2014, 1916 patients underwent brachytherapy and had a pretreatment serum testosterone. Baseline serum testosterone values were collected prospectively before initiation of therapy. Median follow-up was 7.2 years. In total, 26% of the patients received ADT, primarily men with higher risk disease. OM and prostate cancer-specific mortality were examined to determine whether men with lower baseline serum testosterone were at increased risk of mortality when ADT was used, compared with men with baseline normal or higher testosterone., Results: Prostate cancer-specific mortality and OM at 10 years was 0.8% and 22.0%. Age, tobacco use, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and percent positive biopsies were the strongest predictors of OM. ADT use by itself was not associated with an increased risk of OM on multivariate analysis (P=0.695). However, ADT use in men with lower baseline testosterone was associated with a significantly higher risk of OM (P<0.01). ADT use in men with normal or higher baseline testosterone was not associated with an increased OM risk (P=0.924)., Conclusions: Men with lower baseline testosterone may be at increased risk of premature death when ADT is utilized compared with men with baseline normal or higher testosterone. Further analysis of this potential risk factor is warranted to further identify subsets of men who may be at higher risk of long-term adverse sequelae from ADT.

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of supplemental external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) prior to permanent prostate brachytherapy on long term urinary, bowel, and erectile function., Material and Methods: Patient administered urinary, bowel, and erectile quality of life (QoL) instrument were obtained prior to treatment and following brachytherapy. The study population was comprised of the 457 patients who were alive as of June 2016, had been randomized to two markedly different supplemental EBRT dose regimens and a third arm without supplemental EBRT, and had completed the June 2016 QoL survey. The need for urinary or bowel surgical intervention was prospectively recorded during routine follow-up. Multiple parameters were evaluated for effect on outcomes., Results: The urinary catheter was removed on day 0 in 92.1% of patients and 0.4% required a post-implant transurethral prostatic resection (TURP). On average, the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) normalized at week 14. The 10-year rate of urethral strictures was 5.3%. No significant differences were discerned between baseline and post-implant rectal function assessment score (RFAS), and no patient developed a rectal ulcer or fistula. The 10-year potency preservation rate was 50.3%. Supplemental EBRT did not affect urinary, bowel, or erectile function. Urethral strictures were most closely related to bulbomembranous urethral brachytherapy doses, post-implant rectal function to pre-implant hemorroidal bleeding, and RFAS and erectile function to pre-brachytherapy international index of erectile function and age., Conclusions: Supplemental EBRT did not significantly effect catheter dependency, IPSS resolution, urethral stricture rate, the need for post-implant TURP, bowel, or erectile function. Careful attention to brachytherapy dose distributions appears to be most important in minimizing post-brachytherapy morbidity.

Objectives: Previous studies have evaluated whether metformin is associated with prostate cancer incidence and outcomes with conflicting conclusions. In this study, we evaluate the incidence of prostate cancer in diabetic patients treated with and without metformin compared with nondiabetic patients., Materials and Methods: One thousand thirty-four patients underwent transperineal template-guided mapping biopsy secondary to either an elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) or a prior biopsy finding of atypical small acinar proliferation/prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia. The cohort included 881 nondiabetic men, 65 diabetic men treated with metformin, and 88 diabetic men not receiving metformin. In metformin-treated patients, the median duration of usage was 6.0 years. Differences in prostate cancer diagnosis, histologic grade, and tumor volume were compared across the 3 cohorts., Results: There was no statistically significant differences discerned between the 3 cohorts in patient age, prebiopsy PSA, prostate volume, PSA density, PSA doubling time, PSA velocity, or the total number of prior transrectal ultrasound biopsy sessions. Five hundred eighty-four patients were diagnosed with prostate cancer. There was no difference in prostate cancer diagnosis (P=0.153), Gleason score (P=0.960), the number of positive biopsy cores (P=0.764), or risk group stratification (P=0.877) between the 3 cohorts. In multivariate analysis, only older age predicted for prostate cancer diagnosis. In terms of Gleason score ≥7, patient age, PSA velocity, and body mass index predicted for more aggressive histology. Neither diabetes, metformin use or duration was of statistical consequence., Conclusion: Metformin did not impact incidence of prostate cancer diagnosis, Gleason score distribution, or volume of disease.

Purpose: To evaluate prostate-cancer specific mortality (PCSM) in a cohort of high-risk patients treated with a permanent prostate brachytherapy approach, stratified by pre-treatment PSA., Material and Methods: 448 high-risk patients (NCCN criteria) underwent permanent prostate brachytherapy. High risk patients were stratified by pre-treatment PSA (≤ 10.0, 10.1-20, and > 20 ng/ml). Biochemical failure (BF), prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM), distant failure (DM), and overall mortality (OM) were assessed as a function of prognostic group. Multiple clinical, treatment, and dosimetric parameters were evaluated for impact on outcome., Results: The 10-year OM, BF, and PCSM for the entire cohort were 28.5%, 13.3%, and 4.9%, respectively. At 10 years, PCSM was 2.5%, 10.7%, and 4.5% in the PSA ≤ 10, 10.1-20, and > 20 ng/ml groups, respectively. No statistically significant differences in BF or overall survival (OS) were noted when stratified by pre-treatment PSA. DF was the most common in the 10.1-20 ng/ml cohort (8.6% at 10 years). In multivariate analysis, PCSM was most closely related to percent positive biopsies ( p = 0.001) and tobacco ( p = 0.042)., Conclusions: High-risk prostate cancer treated with permanent prostate brachytherapy and supplemental external beam radiotherapy resulted in excellent long-term biochemical control and PCSM. Overall, PCSM was low in all cohorts but highest in the intermediate PSA group (10.1-20 ng/ml).

Objectives: Active surveillance (AS) is increasingly utilized for low-grade prostate cancer with the greatest risk being the possibility of missing a high-grade cancer. We evaluate the role of transperineal template-guided mapping biopsy (TTMB) to select patients for AS., Methods: A total of 131 consecutive, prospectively evaluated men with transrectal ultrasound-guided needle biopsy (TRUS)-diagnosed very low risk (Gleason score ≤6, ≤2 positive biopsies, prostate-specific antigen [PSA] density <0.15, and ≤50% involvement on any core) and low risk (Gleason score ≤6, clinical stage T1c, and PSA ≤10 ng/mL) underwent TTMB as a staging procedure. Biopsies were obtained corresponding to 24 regional biopsy locations. For each patient, the location of each positive biopsy core, the number of positive cores, and the percentage involvement of each core were reported., Results: After TTMB, TRUS-detected very-low-risk prostate cancer patients were less likely to be diagnosed with higher Gleason score, were less likely to have bilateral involvement, and had statistically fewer number of positive biopsy cores on TTMB. After TTMB, no cancer, very-low-risk, or low-risk prostate cancer was detected in 60 of 72 (83.3%) and 19 of 59 (32.2%) of patients with very low and low risk, respectively. In multivariate analysis, older age and low risk predicted for higher Gleason score at the time of TTMB., Conclusions: Very-low-risk prostate cancer patients have a significantly lower incidence of Gleason score upgrading than those with low-risk disease. After TTMB, 83.3% of patients with very-low-risk and 32.2% of patients with low-risk disease appear to be outstanding candidates for AS.

Objective: To report the incidence of prostate cancer diagnosis and quality of life outcomes following transperineal prostate biopsy., Methods: Forty-six consecutive patients underwent office-based transperineal prostate biopsy for an elevated prostate-specific antigen and a normal digital rectal examination without prior prostate biopsy. Prior to biopsy, a repeat prostate-specific antigen was obtained to ensure persistent elevation. Silodosin (8 mg daily) was initiated the day prior to biopsy and continued for 1 week. A total of 18-20 biopsy cores were obtained per patient. All patients responded to a visual analog scale ranging from 0 to 10 immediately following the completion of both the local anesthesia and the biopsy procedure. In addition, an International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), Rectal Function Assessment Score, International Index of Erectile Function, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and postvoid residual were obtained at baseline and 30 days following biopsy, except IPSS which was also obtained at day 7., Results: The mean patient age was 63.3 years with a mean prostate volume of 41.8 cm(3). The mean visual analog scale was 4.2 for the local anesthesia and 3.0 for the biopsy. Thirty-one patients (67.4%) were diagnosed with prostate cancer, with 18 having a Gleason score ≥ 7. Compared to baseline, no adverse changes in IPSS, Rectal Function Assessment Score, International Index of Erectile Function, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, or postvoid residual were detected at day 30. No patient required catheterization, developed sepsis, or required hospitalization., Conclusion: Office-based transperineal prostate biopsy was well tolerated with reasonable treatment-related discomfort, a high rate of prostate cancer diagnosis, and the absence of significant morbidity including sepsis., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To evaluate whether supplemental external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) is essential to maximize Pd-103 brachytherapy outcomes in patients with unfavorable intermediate-risk (IR) disease., Methods and Materials: A total of 630 patients were assessed from two prospective randomized brachytherapy trials evaluating the role of supplemental EBRT in patients with higher risk features. Patients were stratified into unfavorable IR (primary Gleason pattern 4, ≥50% positive biopsies, or ≥2 IR features), favorable IR, and high-risk (HR) cohorts. Median follow-up was 7.5 years. The brachytherapy prescription dose was prescribed to the prostate gland with generous periprostatic margins. Biochemical failure (BF) was defined as a prostate-specific antigen >0.40 ng/mL after nadir. Patients with metastatic prostate cancer or nonmetastatic castrate-resistant disease who died of any cause were classified as dead of prostate cancer. Multiple parameters were evaluated for effect on outcomes., Results: The 10-year BF for favorable IR, unfavorable IR, and HR was 1.7%, 6.6%, and 15.5% (p < 0.001). At 10 years, prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM) and overall mortality (OM) were 0% and 20.4%, 2.1% and 23.2%, and 4.3% and 42.4% for favorable IR, unfavorable IR, and HR. Although unfavorable IR patients had a greater incidence of BF, PCSM, and OM when compared with favorable IR, neither the addition nor dose of supplemental EBRT influenced outcome., Conclusions: Outcomes for favorable IR were superior to those with unfavorable IR. Within the confines of this study, neither the addition nor dose of supplemental EBRT influenced BF, PCSM, or OM in patients with IR disease., (Copyright © 2016 American Brachytherapy Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To evaluate biochemical failure (BF) and prostate cancer specific mortality (PCSM) in intermediate-risk (IR) brachytherapy patients stratified into favorable and unfavorable cohorts, and to compare those outcomes to patients with low (LR) and high-risk (HR) disease., Material and Methods: From March 1995 till February 2012, 2,502 consecutive patients underwent permanent interstitial brachytherapy for clinically localized prostate cancer. Patients were stratified into risk groups as per the NCCN guidelines with further stratification of the intermediate risk cohort into unfavorable (primary Gleason pattern 4, ≥ 50% positive biopsies or ≥ 2 IR features) and favorable cohorts. Median follow-up was 8.5 years. The brachytherapy prescription dose was prescribed to the prostate gland with generous periprostatic margins. Biochemical failure was defined as a PSA > 0.40 ng/ml after nadir. Patients with metastatic prostate cancer or non-metastatic castrate resistant disease who died of any cause were classified as dead of prostate cancer. Multiple parameters were evaluated for effect on outcomes., Results: Fifteen year BF for LR, favorable IR, unfavorable IR, and HR were 1.4%, 2.2%, 7.1%, and 11.1% (p < 0.001), respectively. At 15 years, PCSM for LR, favorable IR, unfavorable IR, and HR was 0.3%, 0.6%, 2.2% and 4.6% (p < 0.001), respectively. In multivariate analysis, BF was best predicted by risk group, pre-implant PSA, percent positive biopsies, prostate volume, and ADT duration, while PCSM was most closely related to risk group, percent positive biopsies and prostate volume., Conclusions: Patients with favorable IR disease have biochemical and PCSM outcomes comparable to those of patients with LR disease. Although unfavorable IR has greater than a 3-fold increased risk of BF and PCSM when compared to favorable IR, the outcomes remain superior to those men with HR disease.

Purpose: To determine whether a previously reported substratification system can be extrapolated to patients with high-risk prostate cancer treated with permanent interstitial brachytherapy., Methods and Materials: Four hundred six National Comprehensive Cancer Network patients with high-risk prostate cancer treated with permanent prostate brachytherapy with or without supplemental external beam radiotherapy were stratified into good (prostate-specific antigen >20 or Gleason score ≥8 or ≥T3), intermediate (prostate-specific antigen >20 and ≥T3), and poor (Gleason score ≥8 with ≥1 additional high-risk feature) prognostic cohorts. Because of only 1 patient with intermediate high-risk disease, the analysis was performed on patients in the good and poor cohorts. Biochemical failure (BF), prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM), distant metastasis, and overall mortality were assessed as function of prognostic group. Multiple parameters were evaluated for impact on outcome., Results: With a median followup time of 7.9 years, 10- and 14-year rates of BF and PCSM for the entire cohort were 7.8% and 3.7%, respectively. The BF rate was significantly greater in the poor prognostic category (16.8% vs. 7.8%, p = 0.041). The poor prognostic category was the strongest predictor of BF in univariate and multivariate analyses. No statistically significant differences in PCSM, distant metastasis, or overall mortality were identified between the good and poor prognostic categories., Conclusions: Patients with high-risk prostate cancer treated with a brachytherapy approach have excellent long-term biochemical control and cancer-specific survival. The poor prognostic high-risk category had a higher rate of BF compared with the good prognostic category without a higher rate of PCSM or distant metastasis., (Copyright © 2015 American Brachytherapy Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To determine the necessity and/or dose of supplemental external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) in conjunction with palladium-103 ((103)Pd) brachytherapy for high-risk prostate cancer patients., Methods and Materials: Trial 44/20 randomized patients to 44 Gy plus 90 Gy (103)Pd vs. 20 Gy with 115 Gy (103)Pd, and the subsequent trial randomized patients to the 20 Gy arm vs. 125 Gy (103)Pd without EBRT (20/0 trial). Eligibility criteria included clinically organ-confined disease with Gleason scores 7-9 and/or a pretreatment prostate-specific antigen (PSA) 10-20 ng/mL. The brachytherapy prescription dose was prescribed to the prostate gland with generous periprostatic margins. Biochemical failure (BF) was defined as a PSA >0.40 ng/mL after nadir. Median Day 0 minimum dose covering 90% of the prostate volume (D90) was >121.0% of the prescription dose. Multiple parameters were evaluated for effect on outcomes., Results: In 44/20 trial, 13-year BF, prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM), and overall mortality (OM) were 8.2%, 4.0%, and 42.8% vs. 8.0%, 1.0%. and 40.3% for the 44 and 20 Gy arms. In 20/0 trial, 8-year BF, PCSM, and OM were 2.1%, 0%, and 14.4% vs. 3.6%, 0%, and 16.1% in the 20 vs. 0 Gy arms. When stratified by either pretreatment PSA or by Gleason score, supplemental EBRT dose did not impact BF, PCSM, or OM. In multivariate analysis, BF was most closely related to percent positive biopsies and prostate volume. In both trials, patients with biochemically controlled disease had a median PSA of <0.02 ng/mL., Conclusions: With high-quality brachytherapy dose distributions, supplemental EBRT did not influence BF or PCSM for patients with intermediate-risk disease. The number of patients with Gleason score 8-9 was too small to determine the role of supplemental EBRT in that cohort., (Copyright © 2015 American Brachytherapy Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To evaluate the utility of transperineal template-guided mapping biopsy (TTMB) of the prostate as an initial means of establishing tissue diagnosis., Materials and Methods: A total of 191 consecutive patients underwent TTMB of the prostate using an anatomic-based technique with sampling of 24 regions. All patients had elevated prostate-specific antigen on routine screening which was followed by a confirmatory prostate-specific antigen and none had undergone previous biopsy of the prostate. The locations of cancer involvement were recorded for each patient in an effort to approximate the percentage of men whose cancer would have been missed or Gleason score underestimated on a standard 12-core biopsy. The median number of submitted biopsy cores was 54.0., Results: Of the 191 study patients, 140 (73.3%) were diagnosed with cancer on TTMB. Among these biopsy-positive patients, 124 (88.6%) had clinically significant cancer. Eighty-nine of the biopsy-positive patients (64.6%) had a Gleason score of ≥7. A total of 34 of the 140 diagnosed cancers were identified exclusively in regions that fell outside of the theoretical 12-core biopsy scheme, suggesting that 24.3% of these cancers would have gone undiagnosed in the absence of TTMB. Among the 107 cancers that would have been diagnosed using a 12-core biopsy approach, 18 (16.8%) were upgraded to a Gleason score of ≥7 with mapping biopsy., Conclusions: TTMB appears to provide more detailed information about prostate cancer grade and location compared with standard 12-core biopsy scheme. This information may serve as a baseline reference for image-guided biopsy (ie, magnetic resonance imaging) regimens, may facilitate clinical decision making and aid in the appropriate selection of patients for active surveillance.

Purpose: Several recent studies have suggested improved clinical outcomes in diabetic men with prostate cancer who also use metformin. We explore whether metformin use is associated with improved outcomes specifically in men undergoing prostate brachytherapy., Material and Methods: 2,298 consecutive patients underwent permanent interstitial brachytherapy by a single brachytherapist (GSM). The cohort included 2028 non-diabetic men, 144 men with diabetes who were not taking metformin, and 126 men with diabetes who were taking metformin. Median follow up was 8.3 years. Differences in biochemical free survival, cause specific survival, and overall survival between men taking metformin and those not taking metformin were compared using Kaplan-Meier curves and log rank tests., Results: Fifteen year biochemical failure rate, cause specific mortality and overall mortality for non-diabetic men was 4.6%, 1.5%, 47.0%, respectively; for diabetic men taking metformin 4.8%, 2.0%, 37.2%; and for diabetic men not taking metformin was 2.8%, 0%, 72.7%, respectively. Metformin use was not predictive in multivariate analysis of biochemical failure or prostate cancer specific mortality. However, diabetic men not taking metformin had higher overall mortality than non-diabetic men., Conclusions: Metformin use was not associated with improved biochemical survival or cancer specific survival in this cohort of men treated with prostate brachytherapy.

Purpose: To explore patterns of time to failure in men receiving high doses of permanent seed brachytherapy with or without external beam radiation therapy as a function of risk status., Material and Methods: Two thousand two hundred and thirty four patients were treated with prostate brachytherapy with median follow up of 8.0 years. The population was 35% low risk, 49% intermediate risk, and 16% high risk (NCCN). Median day 0 implant D90 was 119% and V100 was 98%. Treatment failure was defined as PSA > 0.40 ng/mL after nadir. Rates of biochemical failure, distant metastases, and prostate cancer death were determined with non-prostate death as a competing risk., Results: For all patients, the 10-year biochemical failure, distant metastases, and cause-specific mortality were 4.4%, 1.4%, and 1.3%, respectively. The biochemical failure rates were 1.3%, 4.8%, and 10.0% for men with low, intermediate, and high risk disease, respectively. Median time to failure was 2.8 years. In men who died from prostate cancer, the median time from treatment failure to death was 4.2 years. Overall, 83% of biochemical failures and 97% of metastases occurred within the first 4 years after treatment., Conclusions: With the dose escalation achieved by high quality brachytherapy dosimetry, even high-risk prostate cancer patients have excellent long term biochemical outcomes. Treatment failures occur early, and one third become metastatic and progress rapidly to prostate cancer death. The low frequency and pattern of failures suggest the presence of micrometastatic disease prior to treatment is rare, even in high risk patients.

Purpose: Recent reports have suggested relatively poor prognosis for prostate cancer patients with Gleason pattern 5 treated with dose-escalated external beam radiotherapy (XRT) and androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). We present the largest series of men with high-risk, Gleason pattern 5 prostate cancer treated with permanent interstitial brachytherapy and XRT., Methods and Materials: Between April 1995 and December 2008, 329 consecutive patients with National Comprehensive Cancer Network high-risk disease were treated with permanent interstitial brachytherapy. Most received XRT and ADT. Median followup was 7.2 years. The cause of death was determined for each deceased patient. Multiple clinical, treatment, and dosimetric parameters were evaluated for impact on the evaluated survival parameters., Results: At 10 years, biochemical progression-free survival, cause-specific survival (CSS), and overall survival for the group of high-risk patients as a whole was 91.1%, 95.5%, and 72.5%, respectively. There was no difference in biochemical progression-free survival between men with and without Gleason pattern 5 (89.7% vs. 91.8%; p=0.56). However, men with Gleason pattern 5 had lower prostate cancer CSS (90.3% vs. 98.1%; p=0.011). There was no difference in overall survival comparing men with and without Gleason pattern 5 disease (67.7% vs. 75.4%; p=0.14)., Conclusions: Men with high-risk, Gleason pattern 5 histology treated with brachytherapy and XRT have excellent long-term outcomes, which compare favorably to dose-escalated XRT/ADT series without brachytherapy. Nonetheless, Gleason pattern 5 results in lower CSS than high-risk disease without Gleason pattern 5., (Copyright © 2013 American Brachytherapy Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Patients with clinically insignificant prostate cancer are candidates for active surveillance. However, uncertainty regarding the true extent of disease limits enthusiasm. In this study, we report our initial findings in patients with transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-detected clinically insignificant prostate cancer undergoing transperineal template-guided mapping biopsy (TTMB) as a staging procedure., Methods: Sixty-four patients who met the Epstein criteria for clinically insignificant prostate cancer underwent TTMB. Each biopsy core position was recorded in 3 dimensions with documentation of location of each positive biopsy core, Gleason score, percentage of involvement of each core, and presence/absence of perineural invasion., Results: Mean pre-TRUS prostate specific antigen was 4.7 ng/mL with a Gleason score of 6 involving a median of 5% of 1 TRUS core. The mean number of TTMB biopsy cores was 58.5, with 6.6 cores positive for malignancy. Ten patients had clinically insignificant prostate cancer (15.7%), 8 had no TTMB-detected cancer (12.5%), and 46 (71.9%) had clinically significant cancer. Of patients with cancer, 37 (66.1%) had bilobar involvement and 25 (44.6%) harbored a Gleason score of ≥7. In a multivariate analysis, tobacco consumption was found to be most closely related to clinically significant disease on TTMB., Conclusions: TRUS biopsy underestimates disease extent and Gleason score in some patients. TTMB provides a more accurate assessment of the presence of aggressive histology.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of primary Gleason pattern on biochemical progression-free survival (bPFS), cause-specific survival (CSS), and overall survival (OS) in Gleason 7 prostate cancer patients treated with low-dose-rate (LDR) interstitial brachytherapy with or without supplemental external beam radiation therapy and androgen deprivation therapy., Methods and Materials: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 932 consecutive patients with biopsy-confirmed Gleason 7 prostate cancer who received LDR interstitial brachytherapy as a component of their definitive treatment regimen. Treatment outcomes were compared between patients with primary Gleason pattern 3 and 4., Results: With a median followup of 7.4 years, the 10- and 14-year bPFS, CSS, and OS for the entire Gleason 7 study group were 95.7/95.7%, 98.6/98.6% and 77.2/64.3%, respectively. When biochemical control was evaluated as a function of primary Gleason pattern, the primary pattern 3 had a statistically higher 10- and 14-year bPFS (97.8/97.8% vs. 93.1/93.1%, p=0.006). The Gleason pattern 3 patients also trended toward a higher 10- and 14-year CSS (99.3/99.3% vs. 96.9/96.9%, p=0.058). OS was not statistically different between the two Gleason 7 cohorts., Conclusions: Gleason 7 prostate cancer patients treated with LDR interstitial brachytherapy have an excellent long-term outcome. There was a small but statistically significant advantage in bPFS and a trend toward improved CSS in patients with a primary Gleason pattern of 3., (Copyright © 2013 American Brachytherapy Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)