Can single positive core prostate cancer at biopsy be considered a low-risk disease?

Prostate cancer (PCa) may be a multifocal or bilateral disease. A single positive biopsy core is usually associated with indolent PCa, and doctors may choose to perform active surveillance or focal therapy. We investigated the correlation between finding a single positive biopsy core and the pathological outcome after radical prostatectomy (RP).

Data from the Michinoku Japan Urological Cancer Study Group database including pre- and post-operative information, on 1928 consecutive patients with PCa treated with RP alone at four institutions was used. Among them, 503 patients with a single positive core PCa were followed up, and the clinical and pathological parameters influencing prognosis were analyzed.

Of the 503 patients, 258 (51.3%) had pathological findings ≥ pT2c and 160 (32%) had an undergraded Gleason Score (GS) based on their biopsy findings. A total of 112 patients (39.5%) with clinical T1c developed bilateral tumors (pT2c-T3). The rate of developing pT3 tumors in the single positive core group was significantly higher than that of the multiple positive core group. Moreover, there was no significant difference in the number of pT3b patients between the single and multiple positive core PCa groups.

Based on analysis of radical prostatectomy specimens, positive core PCa can lead to clinically significant disease, with considerable rates of pT3. For patients with PCa and a positive prostate biopsy core, definitive therapy such as RP should be considered.