Two Decades of Active Surveillance for Prostate Cancer in a Single-Center Cohort: Favorable Outcomes after Transurethral Resection of the Prostate

Objective: To report the outcomes of active surveillance (AS) for low-risk prostate cancer (PCa) in a single-center cohort. Patients and Methods: This is a prospective, single-center, observational study. The cohort included all patients who underwent AS for PCa between December 1999 and December 2020 at our institution. Follow-up appointments (FU) ended in February 2021. Results: A total of 413 men were enrolled in the study, and 391 had at least one FU. Of those who followed up, 267 had PCa diagnosed by transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided biopsy (T1c: 68.3%), while 124 were diagnosed after transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) (T1a/b: 31.7%). Median FU was 46 months (IQR 25–90). Cancer specific survival was 99.7% and overall survival was 92.3%. Median reclassification time was 11.2 years. After 20 years, 25% of patients were reclassified within 4.58 years, 6.6% opted to switch to watchful waiting, 4.1% died, 17.4% were lost to FU, and 46.8% remained on AS. Those diagnosed by TRUS had a significantly higher reclassification rate than those diagnosed by TURP (p < 0.0001). Men diagnosed by targeted MRI/TRUS fusion biopsy tended to have a higher reclassification probability than those diagnosed by conventional template biopsies (p = 0.083). Conclusions: Our single-center cohort spanning over two decades revealed that AS remains a safe option for low-risk PCa even in the long term. Approximately half of AS enrollees will eventually require definitive treatment due to disease progression. Men with incidental prostate cancer were significantly less likely to have disease progression.

Incidence of incidental cancer in transurethral resection of prostate specimens: a 10-year retrospective analysis

Background Prostate cancer can be detected incidentally in patients undergoing transurethral resection of the prostate for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Therefore, it is very important that the transurethral resection of the prostate specimen is evaluated carefully for accurate grading and staging. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of incidental prostate cancer and its relationship with clinicopathological findings. Methods The study included a total of 900 patients, who underwent transurethral resection of the prostate for benign prostatic hyperplasia treatment between June 2010 and June 2020. Patient age, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and resected prostate weight were assessed, and the tumor stage, Gleason grade group, lymphovascular and perineural invasion status were also evaluated in the incidental prostate cancer group. The association between these parameters and prostate cancer detection was analyzed. Results Incidental detection of prostate cancer was determined at the rate of 13.3%. The incidental prostate cancer group had a significantly higher mean age and PSA levels compared to the benign prostatic hyperplasia group. The weight of the resected specimen had no impact on the incidence of incidental prostate cancer. Of the total 120 incidental prostate cancer cases, 59 (49.2%) were stage T1a and 61 (50.8%) were stage T1b. No significant difference was determined between the T1 stages and age distribution, but a statistically significant difference was determined in the other clinicopathological parameters. Conclusions The results of this study demonstrated that the incidence of incidental prostate cancer detection was related to age and PSA levels and increased, especially in those aged ≥ 60 years and/or PSA level ≥ 4 ng/mL. To avoid overlooking incidental prostate cancer in these patients, it can be recommended that material is sufficiently sampled and carefully evaluated, and when necessary, all resected specimens are examined. Although no significant correlation was determined between specimen weight and the incidence of incidental prostate cancer, as a significant difference was determined in T1 stages, this suggests that the amount of material evaluated could change the sub-stage.

Incidental prostate cancer in patients who underwent radical cystectomy for high risk non muscle invasive bladder cancer: Is it clinically significant?

Introduction and objective: Non muscle invasive, high-risk, bladder cancer is an entity which is usually treated with radical cystectomy. Incidental prostate cancer refers to prostate cancer detected in radical cystectomy specimens in patients with no signs of the disease. Objective of this study is to report the prevalence, characteristics, and clinical significance of incidental prostate cancer in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer patients treated with radical cystectomy in our department. Material and methods: We retrospectively reviewed data from 41 patients who underwent radical cystectomy for non-muscle invasive, high risk, bladder cancer during the years 2016–2020 in our department. Prostate cancer was described as clinically significant when there were positive surgical margins, extraprostatic extension, Gleason score >6, or tumor volume ⩾0.5 cm3. Two groups of patients were formed according to the presence or absence of clinically significant prostate cancer. Results: Incidental prostate cancer in the cystectomy specimens was detected in 21 of the 35 patients investigated. Clinically significant prostate cancer was detected in five patients. Positive surgical margins and extraprostatic extension were present in one patient, respectively. Gleason score was more than six in four of the five patients and PCa tumor volume was above 0.5 cm3 in three patients. Two patients with clinically significant prostate cancer were diagnosed with biochemical recurrence during their follow up. Conclusions: In non-muscle invasive, high-risk patients undergoing radical cystectomy, clinically significant incidental PCa is an important issue as it may affect prognosis, quality of life, metastasis free survival, and overall survival.

The Influence of Endogenous Testosterone on Incidental Prostate Cancer after Transurethral Prostate Resection

<b><i>Objective:</i></b> The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that endogenous total testosterone (TT) may relate to incidental prostate cancer (iPCA) in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) associated with prostate enlargement undergoing transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). <b><i>Methods:</i></b> The hypothesis was tested in contemporary cohort of patients who underwent TURP because of LUTS due to prostate enlargement after excluding the suspect of PCA. In period running from January 2017 to November 2019, 389 subjects were evaluated. Endogenous testosterone was measured preoperatively between 8:00 and 10:00 o’clock in the morning. Relationships between TT and iPCA were evaluated by statistical methods. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Overall, iPCA was detected in 18 cases (4.6%) with clinical stage cT1a or International Society of Urologic Pathology (ISUP) &#x3c; 2 in 11 patients (61.1%). Endogenous testosterone was inversely associated with age and BMI in the study population but not in the subgroup with iPCA in wholly endogenous TT strongly correlated to both number of chips involved by cancer (Pearson’s correlation coefficient, <i>r</i> = 0.553; <i>p</i> = 0.017) and ISUP &#x3e; 2 (<i>r</i> = 0.504; <i>p</i> = 0.033). The positive association of endogenous TT with both tumor load and tumor grade was confirmed by the linear regression model with high-regression coefficients for the former (regression coefficient, <i>b</i> = 0.307; 95% confidence interval, 95% CI: 0.062–0.551; and <i>p</i> = 0.017) as for the latter (<i>b</i> = 5.898; 95% CI: 0.546–11.249; and <i>p</i> = 0.033). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Preoperative endogenous TT is associated with features of iPCA. The influence of iPCA on endogenous testosterone needs to be addressed by a large multicenter prospective trial.