Natural history of incidentally diagnosed prostate cancer after holmium laser enucleation of the prostate.

There is no consensus on the management plan for incidental prostate cancer (IPCa) after holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP). This study aims to investigate the natural course of this disease and suggest appropriate treatment in real clinical practice.

The medical records of a prospective cohort of patients with LUTS/BPH who underwent HoLEP between July 2008 and December 2020 at Seoul National University Hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Patients who underwent HoLEP for palliative purpose of prostate cancer control were excluded. The natural history of IPCa was assessed by the clinician in a descriptive manner for each treatment option.

Among 2630 patients, 141 (5.4%) were diagnosed with IPCa after HoLEP. Pathologic T stage and magnetic resonance imaging results were highly associated with the physician's primary treatment decision-making for IPCa. Active surveillance (AS) was performed in 80% of patients, of whom 90% underwent follow-up without intervention, while the remaining 10% underwent deferred active treatment with a median follow-up of 46.3 months due to International Society of Urological Pathology grade group upgrading or increasing core involvement percentage. Meanwhile, 20% of patients underwent immediate active treatment. With a median follow-up period of 88.3 months after treatment, only one of 25 patients had biochemical recurrence.

The incidence of IPCa after HoLEP was 5.4%, and among these, approximately 20% proceeded with immediate definitive therapy and an additional 6% ultimately received definitive therapy within a median of 4 years of AS but showed excellent oncological outcomes.

PloS one. 2023 Feb 02*** epublish ***

Jang Hee Han, Dae Hyuk Chung, Min Chul Cho, Ja Hyeon Ku, Chang Wook Jeong, Cheol Kwak, Jae-Seung Paick, Seung-June Oh

Department of Urology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea., Department of Urology, SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea., Department of Urology, Mediplex Sejong Hospital, Seoul, South Korea.