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Updated: May 10, 2026
Retzius-Sparing Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy
Published on: May 19, 2022
Oncological outcomes of robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy after more than 5 years
Michele Billia1, Oussama Elhage, Benjamin Challacombe
1Department of Urology, Guy's and St. Thomas' Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Great Maze Pond, London, SE1 9RT, UK, mitchuro@gmail.com.
Introduction:
In the last 10 years, robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) has become increasingly popular as witnessed by an increased number of publications. However, there is still little known about the long-term oncologic outcomes of this technique. The aim of this study is to assess the oncologic outcomes of patients who underwent RARP at least 5 years ago, with an emphasis on biochemical recurrence-free survival (BCRFS).
Materials And Methods:
In 2004, RARP was introduced at our institutions. Records of all patients having RARP were prospectively collected in a dedicated database as part of the NUVOLA-BAUS project. For the present study, we selected only patients who had a follow-up of at least 5 years. Endpoints were BCRFS rate and 5-year cancer-specific survival (CSS).
Results:
Overall, we identified 175 patients; 61.7 % of patients had Gleason 7-9 disease and 26.9 % had pT ≥ 3 disease at final pathology. Eight patients (4.5 %) had biochemical recurrence at follow-up. Overall 5-year BCRFS rate was 95.4 %, while it was 97.6, 91 and 50 % in pT2, pT3 and pT4 diseases, respectively. Among the patients who recurred, the mean time to recurrence was 22.1 ± 8.8 months. These patients received salvage external beam radiation treatment combined with hormonal therapy (anti-androgen + LHRH analogue) or hormonal therapy alone. 5-year CSS was 98.3 % (172/175): in 2 cases, the specimen showed pT4 cancer, while lymph node metastasis was noted in one case.
Conclusion:
The 5-year BCRFS and CSS after RARP are encouraging even in a population with significant high-risk disease.