title: Prognosis of stage pT0 after prolonged neoadjuvant endocrine therapy of prostate cancer: a matched-pair analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Stage pT0 following prolonged neoadjuvant endocrine therapy (PPNET) of prostate cancer is of great clinical interest, because this finding suggests maximum tumor damage. Therefore pT0 patients are expected to have an extremely favorable PSA progression rate. The purpose of this study was to assess whether the PSA progression rate of pT0 patients after PPNET is lower than that of non-pT0 patients after PPNET.
  
  
  METHODS
  174 patients with previously untreated, clinical stage cT1-3 carcinomas were submitted to PSA monitored complete androgen deprivation therapy followed by radical prostatectomy (RP). In 138 patients the RP specimens showed residual cancer, in 36 patients no residual cancer was found. Biochemical progression was defined as PSA >/=0.2ng/ml. To control for confounding prognostic factors (Gleason score, cT-stage) between both groups a matched-pair analysis for the cumulative risk of biochemical failure was performed, resulting in 30 matched pairs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  With a median follow-up of 37.9 and 46.0 months in the matched non-pT0 and pT0 cohort respectively, matched-pair analysis failed to demonstrate significant differences in crude PSA relapse-free survival between both groups (p=0.7758).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that patients converted into pT0 after PPNET do not represent a subgroup with an extremely favorable prognosis. However our results have to be confirmed by the assessment of larger cohorts of pT0 patients with a longer follow-up. The presented data do not allow drawing any conclusions on the prognostic impact of PPNET in general.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, University Hospital Benjamin Franklin, Free University, Hindenburgdamm 30, 12200, Berlin, Germany. j.koellermann@t-online.de
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Köllermann
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hopfenmüller
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Caprano
authors.forename: Anke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Budde
authors.forename: Helga
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Weidenfeld
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weidenfeld
authors.forename: Burkhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Helpap
mesh_terms: D000813:Anilides / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005485:Flutamide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D017273:Goserelin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D016729:Leuprolide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008297:Male; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009570:Nitriles; D011379:Prognosis; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000097:blood; D011468:Prostatectomy; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D013997:Time Factors; D014105:Tosyl Compounds
chemical_list: D000813:Anilides; D009570:Nitriles; D014105:Tosyl Compounds; D017273:Goserelin; D005485:Flutamide; C053541:bicalutamide; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen; D016729:Leuprolide