Identification of early nodal recurrence after primary prostate cancer (PCa) treatment by functional imaging may guide metastasis-directed therapy such as salvage lymph node dissection (SLND).
The aim of this systematic review was to assess the oncological role and the safety of SLND in the era of modern imaging in case of exclusive nodal recurrence after primary PCa treatment with curative intent.
A systematic literature search in the PubMed and Cochrane databases was performed up to August 2018 according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis guidelines. Overall, 27 SLND series have been selected for synthesis.
Prostate-specific membrane antigen or choline positron emission tomography/computed tomography was the reference detection technique. SLND was performed by open or laparoscopic approach with <10% of grade 3 or more complication rate. Mean follow-up was 29.4 mo. Complete biochemical response after SLND was achieved in 13-79.5%of cases (mean 44.3%). The 2- and 5-yr biochemical progression-free survival rates ranged from 23% to 64% and from 6% to 31%, respectively. Fiver-year overall survival was approximately 84%. Main drawbacks limiting the interpretation of the effectiveness of SLND were the retrospective design of single-center series, heterogeneity between series in terms of adjuvant treatment, endpoints, definitions of progression and study population, as well as the absence of long-term follow-up.
A growing body of accumulated data suggests that SLND is a safe metastasis-directed therapy option in nodal recurrence after primary treatment. However, to date, high level of evidence is still missing to draw any clinically meaningful conclusion about the oncological impact of SLND on long-term endpoints.
When imaging identifies exclusive nodal recurrent prostate cancer, surgery directed to the positive lesions is safe and can offer at least a temporary biochemical response. The oncological role assessed by strong clinical endpoints remains uncertain.
European urology. 2018 Oct 31 [Epub ahead of print]
Guillaume Ploussard, Giorgio Gandaglia, Hendrik Borgmann, Pieter de Visschere, Isabel Heidegger, Alexander Kretschmer, Romain Mathieu, Cristian Surcel, Derya Tilki, Igor Tsaur, Massimo Valerio, Roderick van den Bergh, Piet Ost, Alberto Briganti, EAU-YAU Prostate Cancer Working Group
Department of Urology, Saint Jean Languedoc/La Croix du Sud Hospital, and Institut Universitaire du Cancer Toulouse-Oncopole, Toulouse, France. Electronic address: ., Department of Urology, Urological Research Institute, Vita-Salute University and San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy., Department of Urology, University Hospital of Mainz, Mainz, Germany., Department of Radiology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium., Department of Urology, University Hospital of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria., Department of Urology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Munich, Germany., Department of Urology, CHU Rennes, Rennes, France., Department of Urology, Fundeni Clinical Institute, Bucharest, Romania., Martini Klinik Prostate Cancer Center, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; Department of Urology, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany., Department of Urology, CHUV Lausanne, Switzerland., Department of Urology, Antonius Hospital Utrecht, The Netherlands., Department of Radiation Oncology and Experimental Cancer Research, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.