pT0 Prostate Cancer: Predictive Clinicopathologic Features in an American Population

The pT0 stage of prostate cancer describes the radical prostatectomy (RP) specimen where no cancer can be identified. Given known racial and geographic differences in prostate cancer incidence and survival, we reviewed our experience with pT0 disease to determine applicability of these predictive features in an American population.

A retrospective chart review was conducted for all RPs at one state tertiary care institution during a 20-year period (1991-2011). Clinicopathologic features of pT0 patients were collected and their relevant pathologic material re-reviewed.

Of a total of 1,635 RPs performed, 4 (0.2%) not receiving neoadjuvant therapy or other prior prostate surgeries were stage pT0. Biopsies from 3 of 4 patients were re-evaluated and confirmed a small focus, <1% of tissue, of Gleason score 3+3 adenocarcinoma; a fourth was not available for re-review. Our re-review of the RP slides identified small foci of cancer in two of the four, thus yielding a final true pT0 incidence of 0.1%. Preoperative prostate specific antigen ranged from 4.4 to 7.4 ng/ml, clinical stages were all T1c, and there was no evidence of recurrence at 3 months to 10 years of follow-up.

Stage pT0 prostate cancer is very uncommon, occurring with an incidence of 0.1%, and in our experience occurs only in clinical T1c patients with pre-biopsy prostate specific antigen < 7.5 ng/ml, with Gleason score 3 + 3 adenocarcinoma comprising < 1%, 1 mm of a single core biopsy, a stricter threshold than that seen in non-American populations.