To review the literature on salvage treatments after focal therapy (FT) for prostate cancer (PCa).
A non-systematic literature review was conducted on PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science up to March 15, 2024, for studies that assessed salvage treatment outcomes in patients with recurrent PCa after primary FT. Original prospective and retrospective studies with more than 10 patients were included. Reviews, editorial comments, conference abstracts, and studies focusing solely on whole-gland treatments were excluded.
Twenty-one studies with a total of 1012 patients were included. The most reported salvage treatments were salvage radical prostatectomy followed by re-do ablation therapy. Only one study evaluated salvage radiation therapy. Except for one prospective study, all studies were retrospective. Oncological outcomes showed acceptable biochemical recurrence rates. Functional outcomes varied, with significant impacts observed on erectile function across modalities, though continence rates were less impacted. Complications were generally low across all treatment options.
Salvage treatment post-primary FT is feasible, safe, and has reasonable oncologic outcomes. However, significant declines in sexual function are common, while continence is comparatively less affected. The literature primarily consists of retrospective studies; hence, future research should focus on large-scale prospective evaluations to better define treatment protocols and improve patient outcomes.
Prostate cancer and prostatic diseases. 2024 Aug 01 [Epub ahead of print]
Lorenzo Storino Ramacciotti, Andre Luis Abreu, Sébastien Crouzet, Petr Macek, Brian J Miles, Rahim Horuz, Diogo Nunes-Carneiro, Phillip Stricker, Stephen Scionti, M Pilar Laguna
USC Institute of Urology and Catherine & Joseph Aresty Department of Urology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA., USC Institute of Urology and Catherine & Joseph Aresty Department of Urology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. ., Department of Urology, Edouard Herriot Hospital, University of Lyon, Lyon, France., Institute Montsouris, Paris, France., Department of Urology, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA., Medipol Mega University Hospital. Department of Urology Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey., Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto, Department of Urology, ICBAS, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal., Department of Urology, St Vincents Private Hospital Sydney, St Vincents Prostate Cancer Research Centre and The Garvan Institute, Sydney, NSW, Australia., Vituro Health, Sarasota, FL, USA.