Significance of neoadjuvant hormonal therapy in radical retropubic prostatectomy: a retrospective single-surgeon...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether neo-adjuvant hormonal therapy (NHT) prior to radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) for prostate cancer (PCa) is beneficial in terms of surgical outcomes and for preventing or delaying biochemical recurrence via single-surgeon case series study.

Fifty-three men underwent RRP by a single surgeon. The patients were divided into two groups according to whether or not NHT was performed prior to RRP. The study was analyzed retrospectively. We evaluated clinical parameters, surgical parameters, and biochemical recurrence rate. Group 1 (n=34) was treated with RRP only, while Group 2 (n=19) underwent RRP along with NHT.

There were no significant differences in clinical, operation-related and pathological factors between the two groups (p>0.05). There was also no significant difference in biochemical recurrence rate between the two groups at the last follow-up, although Group 2 tended to have a lower PCa recurrence rate than Group 1 and the initial prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level was significantly higher in Group 2 than Group 1 (p=0.0496).

The present single-surgeon case series study revealed a trend toward a lower rate of PCa recurrence in NHT+RRP treated patients compared to those treated with RRP alone, but this did not reach statistical significance, despite the fact that NHT+RRP patients exhibited higher serum PSA levels preoperatively. Prospective studies with a longer duration of observation and a greater number of patients would be helpful in evaluating NHT more definitively.