Lymph node invasion (LNI) represents a poor prognostic factor after primary radical prostatectomy (RP) for prostate cancer (PCa). However, the impact of LNI on oncologic outcomes in salvage radical prostatectomy (SRP) patients is unknown.
To investigate the impact of lymph node dissection (LND) and pathological lymph node status (pNX vs. pN0 vs. pN1) on long-term oncologic outcomes of SRP patients.
Patients who underwent SRP for recurrent PCa between 2000 and 2021 were identified from 12 high-volume centers. Kaplan-Meier analyses and multivariable Cox regression models were used. Endpoints were biochemical recurrence (BCR), overall survival (OS), and cancer-specific survival (CSS).
Of 853 SRP patients, 87% (n = 727) underwent LND, and 21% (n = 151) harbored LNI. The median follow-up was 27 months. The mean number of removed lymph nodes was 13 in the LND cohort. At 72 months after SRP, BCR-free survival was 54% vs. 47% vs. 7.2% for patients with pNX vs. pN0 vs. pN1 (p < 0.001), respectively. At 120 months after SRP, OS rates were 89% vs. 81% vs. 41% (p < 0.001), and CSS rates were 94% vs. 96% vs. 82% (p = 0.02) for patients with pNX vs. pN0 vs. pN1, respectively. In multivariable Cox regression analyses, pN1 status was independently associated with BCR (HR: 1.77, p < 0.001) and death (HR: 2.89, p < 0.001).
In SRP patients, LNI represents an independent poor prognostic factor. However, the oncologic benefit of LND in SRP remains debatable. These findings underline the need for a cautious LND indication in SRP patients as well as strict postoperative monitoring of SRP patients with LNI.
Cancers. 2023 Jun 09*** epublish ***
Felix Preisser, Reha-Baris Incesu, Pawel Rajwa, Marcin Chlosta, Mohamed Ahmed, Andre Luis Abreu, Giovanni Cacciamani, Luis Ribeiro, Alexander Kretschmer, Thilo Westhofen, Joseph A Smith, Markus Graefen, Giorgio Calleris, Yannic Raskin, Paolo Gontero, Steven Joniau, Rafael Sanchez-Salas, Shahrokh F Shariat, Inderbir Gill, Robert Jeffrey Karnes, Paul Cathcart, Henk Van Der Poel, Giancarlo Marra, Derya Tilki
Martini-Klinik Prostate Cancer Center, University Hospital Hamburg Eppendorf, 20251 Hamburg, Germany., Department of Urology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria., Department of Urology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55902, USA., Keck Medical Center of USC, USC Institute of Urology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA., Urology Centre, Guy's Hospital, London SE1 9RT, UK., Department of Urology, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, 80539 Munich, Germany., Department of Urologic Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA., Department of Surgical Sciences, San Giovanni Battista Hospital, University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy., Department of Urology, University Hospitals Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium., Department of Urology, Institut Mutualiste Montsouris, Université Paris Descartes, 75270 Paris, France., Department of Urology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, 1066 Amsterdam, The Netherlands.