Oncologic outcome after laparoscopic radical prostatectomy: 10 years of experience

While the published short-term oncologic outcomes after laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP) are encouraging, intermediate and long-term data are lacking.

We analyzed the oncologic outcome after LRP based on 10 yr of experience.

This retrospective analysis of data prospectively collected from 1998 to 2007 studies 1564 consecutive patients with clinically localized prostate cancer (cT1c-cT3a) who underwent LRP.

LRP was performed by two surgeons at either L'Institut Mutualiste Montsouris (IMM) in Paris, France, or Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York City, USA.

Progression of disease was defined as a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) of >or=0.1 ng/ml with confirmatory rise or initiation of secondary therapy. Patients were stratified as low, intermediate, or high risk based on the pretreatment prostate cancer nomogram progression-free probability of >90%, 89-71%, and <70%, respectively.

The overall 5-yr and 8-yr probability of freedom from progression (PFP) was 78% (95% confidence interval [CI], 74-82%) and 71% (95% CI, 63-78%), respectively. For low-, intermediate-, and high-risk cancer, the 5-yr PFP was 91% (95% CI, 85-95%), 77% (95% CI, 71-82%), and 53% (95% CI, 40-65%), respectively. Surgical margins (SMs) were positive in 13% of the cases. Nodal metastases were detected in 3% of the patients after limited pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) and in 10% after a standard PLND (p<0.001). The 3-yr PFP for node-positive patients was 49%. There were 22 overall deaths and 2 deaths from prostate cancer.

LRP provided 5- and 8-yr cancer control in 78% and 71% of patients, respectively, with clinically localized prostate cancer and in 53% of those with high-risk cancer at 5 yr. A PLND limited to the external iliac nodal group is inadequate for detecting nodal metastases.