The fate of 10-year clinically recurrence-free survivors after definitive radiotherapy for T1-3N0M0 prostate cancer.

Abstract

We recently reported the outcome of 168 patients treated with pelvic lymphadenectomy and definitive radiation therapy. This report is a subanalysis of those patients (pts) who were clinically without evidence of disease (NED) 10 years after a negative staging pelvic lymphadenectomy and definitive radiation therapy for prostate cancer. One hundred of our original cohort of 168 patients had at least ten year follow-up. 76 patients had pathologically negative lymph nodes and had not received hormonal therapy. Forty-two N0 patients with sufficient follow-up were alive and clinically NED 10 years post-operatively. Distribution by disease stage at diagnosis was: Stage A2: 12 pts; Stage B: 19 pts; Stage B2/C: 6 pts; Stage C: 5 pts. Median follow-up was 13.3 years, with a minimum follow-up of 10 years. Of the 42 patients clinically NED at 10 years, 5 pts died subsequently without PSA data, remaining clinically NED a median of 13 y 3 m postoperatively; 37 patients were alive and without evidence of disease off all therapy at 10 years post-operatively. Bone scans were performed on 8 of the 9 patients with PSA over 4.0 ng/ml or on hormonal therapy. These revealed a single patient with diffuse but asymptomatic bone metastases. Ultrasound-guided sextant biopsies were performed on one 78-year-old patient with elevated PSA 19 years post-operatively, revealing an asymptomatic local recurrence. Patients who survive clinically NED for 10 years have a low likelihood of clinical failure, even in the presence of PSA values between 4.0 and 10 ng/ml. In these patients, PSA trends are of greater utility than absolute values.