Abstract
Background: Radical prostatectomy (RP) and low-dose-rate brachytherapy (LDR) are two widely used treatment options for patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer (IRPC). However, which one is better remains controversial. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of RP vs LDR for patients with IRPC. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 361 IRPC patients who underwent treatment from January 2010 and August 2017. 160 underwent RP and 201 underwent LDR using Iodine-125. Biochemical failure for RP was defined as prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels > 0.2 ng/ml, and for LDR as nadir PSA level + 2 ng/ml. The log-rank test compared biochemical relapse-free survival (bRFS) between the two modalities, and Cox regression identified factors associated with bRFS. Results: Median follow-up was 54 months for RP and 69 months for LDR. The 5-and 8-year bRFS rates were 70.2% and 63.1% in the RP group, and 83.2% and 68.9% in the LDR group, respectively, P=0.003. There were no significant differences in terms of clinical relapse-free survival (cRFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS) or overall survival (OS) between the two groups. Conclusion: LDR is a reasonable treatment option for IRPC patients, yielding improved bRFS and equivalent rates of cRFS, CSS and OS compared with RP.
Excessive waitlists and delays to treatment with low-dose-rate brachytherapy predict an increased risk of recurrence and metastases in intermediate-risk prostatic carcinoma
