title: Patient selection, cancer control, and complications after salvage local therapy for postradiation prostate-specific antigen failure: a systematic review of the literature.
abstract: Among men who experience prostate-specific antigen (PSA) failure after external beam radiation or brachytherapy (RT), many will harbor occult micrometastases; however, a significant minority will have a true local-only failure and, thus, potentially may benefit from a salvage local therapy. Those most likely to have a local-only failure initially have low-risk disease (PSA < 10 ng/mL, Gleason score < or =6, clinical T1c or T2a tumor status), pretreatment PSA velocity < 2.0 ng/mL per year at the time of initial presentation, interval to PSA failure > 3 years, PSA doubling time > 12 months, negative bone scan and pelvic imaging, and positive rebiopsy. In addition, men with presalvage PSA levels > 10 ng/mL, presalvage T3/T4 disease, or presalvage Gleason scores > or =7 on a rebiopsy sample without significant RT effects are unlikely to be cured by salvage local therapy. Based on a review of all series of post-RT salvage prostatectomy, cryosurgery, and brachytherapy published in English since 1990, morbidity can be substantial. Although urinary incontinence appeared to be greater after salvage prostatectomy (41%) or cryosurgery (36%) than after brachytherapy (6%), patients who received salvage brachytherapy faced a 17% risk of grade 3 or 4 genitourinary complications and a fistula risk that averaged 3.4% across all series. From this review, the authors concluded that prospective randomized studies are needed to determine the relative efficacy of the 3 major local salvage modalities and that additional research is needed to identify factors associated with an increased risk of significant complications to improve patient selection and to augment the benefit/risk ratio associated with attempts to cure local-only recurrences after radiation therapy.
authors: Department of Radiation Oncology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. pnguyen@lroc.harvard.edu
authors: Paul L
authors: PL
authors: Nguyen
authors: Anthony V
authors: AV
authors: D'Amico
authors: Andrew K
authors: AK
authors: Lee
authors: W Warren
authors: WW
authors: Suh
mesh_terms: D000726:Androgen Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001918:Brachytherapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D003452:Cryosurgery / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy / Q000379:methods; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D018579:Patient Selection; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000009:adverse effects; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D016879:Salvage Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D014548:Urinary Fistula / Q000209:etiology; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D000726:Androgen Antagonists; D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen