Salvage surgery or salvage radiotherapy for locally recurrent prostate cancer

To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of salvage radiation or surgery for locally recurrent tumor after initial treatment for clinically localized prostate cancer.

The treatment records of 70 patients with local treatment failure after definitive therapy for clinically localized prostate cancer were reviewed. Initial treatment consisted of external beam radiation therapy (RT) in 27 patients and radical retropubic prostatectomy (RP) in 43 patients.

The mean serum PSA levels were similar in both groups before initial treatment: 8.5 and 10.5 ng/mL for the salvage RP and salvage RT groups, respectively (P = 0.09). However, at the time of salvage treatment, the mean serum PSA levels were 9.1 and 1.1 ng/mL for the salvage RP and salvage RT groups, respectively (P = 0.0001). The mean time from tumor recurrence to salvage treatment was 15.6 months for the salvage RP group and 4.9 months for the salvage RT group (P = 0.0001 ). Although there was no statistical difference in the disease-free survival rate (P = 0.38), a trend for better disease control in the salvage RT group was evident (74.4% versus 44.4%). Patients treated with salvage RP had a higher rate of urinary incontinence than those undergoing salvage RT: 63% and 32.6%, respectively (P = 0.01).

The disease-free survival rate was similar between patients receiving salvage RP or RT, despite the significantly higher serum PSA levels at the time of treatment and the delay in time to treatment for the salvage RP patients. Salvage RP is associated with a high rate of urinary incontinence. Earlier identification of tumor recurrence after RT may improve the efficacy and safety of salvage RP.