title: Prognostic factors of persistently detectable PSA after radical prostatectomy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine predictive factors of detectable prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in patients submitted to radical prostatectomy (RP) and to define the prognostic role of this event.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 318 patients who underwent RP between 2002 and 2007 were selected from our prospective database. Selection criteria were: no neo-adjuvant therapy; surgical specimens analyzed and reviewed according to a standardized protocol by two pathologists; clinical stage T1,T2 or T3 N0; pathological stage T2-3/N0-1.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median age was 65. 22 years. All patients had a PSA greater than 20 ng/mL (6.9%). Fifty-six patients had poorly differentiated prostate cancer at biopsy (17.6%) and 77 after pathological examination. Cancer stage was cT2/3 in 128 (40.2%) patients, pT3 in 79 (24.8%) patients and pN1 in 20 patients (6.2%). Surgical margins were positive in 89 cases (28%). Thirty-three of the 318 patients had detectable PSA (10.3%) after RP. Multivariate analysis confirmed PSA (odds ratio 3.07; P = 0.0008), pT3a/b stage (odds ratio 2.72; P = 0.0466) and nodal metastasis (odds ratio 5.68; P = 0.0060) as independent predictors of detectable PSA after RP. Detectable PSA had a great impact on prognosis. Twenty-four of these 33 patients experienced a PSA progression and needed a second treatment. In a multivariate model, detectable PSA functioned as an independent predictor of PSA progression (hazard ratio 4.54; P = 0.0000).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our experience, a detectable PSA after RP can be predicted by preoperative PSA, pathological stage and nodal status. Moreover, it represents a significant risk factor of PSA progression. The strong imbalance towards risk factors of systemic disease supports the use of hormonal therapy in case of progression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, National Institute for Cancer Research, Genoa, Liguria, Italy. naselli@libero.it
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Naselli
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Introini
authors.forename: Rossana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Andreatta
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Spina
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Truini
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Puppo
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D011468:Prostatectomy; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology / Q000601:surgery; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen