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Updated: Dec 4, 2025
Retzius-Sparing Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy
Published on: May 19, 2022
Oncological outcomes of pathologically organ-confined, lymph node-positive prostate cancer after radical
Lara Franziska Stolzenbach1, Sophie Knipper2, Philipp Mandel3
1Martini-Klinik Prostate Cancer Center, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; Cancer Prognostics and Health Outcomes Unit, Division of Urology, University of Montreal Health Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Background:
The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of lymph-node involvement on oncological outcomes in patients with pathologically organ-confined prostate cancer (pT2 CaP) after radical prostatectomy (RP).
Methods:
We retrospectively analyzed 9,631 pT2 CaP patients who underwent RP at a single institution between 1998 and 2018. Kaplan-Meier plots and Cox regression models (CRMs) assessed biochemical recurrence (BCR)-free survival and metastasis-free survival (MFS) according to N-stage. In subgroup analyses of N1 patients, Kaplan-Meier plots and CRMs were stratified according to adjuvant treatment.
Results:
Of 9,631 pT2 staged patients, 241 (2.5%) harbored lymph-node metastases after RP (pN1). The median follow-up was 60.8 months. No pT2 N1-staged patient died due to CaP. The 5-year BCR-free survival rates were 54.7 vs. 88.4% in pT2 N1 vs. pT2 N0 patients, respectively (P < 0.001). The 5-year MFS rates were 92.5 vs. 98.9% in pT2 N1 vs. pT2 N0 patients, respectively (P < 0.001). Within pT2 N1 patients, presence of ≥3 positive lymph nodes was an independent risk factor for BCR (hazard ratio [HR] 3.4, P < 0.001) and for metastatic progression (HR 1.7, P = 0.04). Finally, 3-year BCR-free survival was improved in pT2 N1 patients treated with adjuvant radiation therapy (87.1% vs. 63.7% for patients who received other treatment options [P < 0.001]).
Conclusion:
Patients with pathologically organ-confined but lymph node-positive CaP exhibited favorable oncological outcomes after RP. Presence of ≥3 positive LNs predicted higher rates of BCR and metastatic progression. In consequence, in pT2 N1 patients treated with RP with ≥3 positive LNs, adjuvant treatment may be considered.9.
