Comparison of mid-term carcinologic control obtained after open, laparoscopic, and robot-assisted radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the cancer control afforded by radical prostatectomy in patients who underwent either an open, laparoscopic, or robotic procedure for localized prostate cancer.


METHODS
We collected data on all patients treated between 2000 and 2004. We recorded age, BMI, PSA, Gleason score and 2002 TNM stage, type of surgery, perioperative parameters, postoperative complications, pathological data, recurrence and outcome.


RESULTS
Data were analyzed for 239 patients. Overall, the mean follow-up was 49.7 (18-103) months. Surgical procedures were open in 83 patients, laparoscopic in 85, and robot-assisted in 71. The transfusion rate was 5.6% for robotic cases, 5.9% for laparoscopic cases and 9.6% for open prostatectomy (p = 0.03). The positive margin rates in open, laparoscopic, and robotic cases were 18.1, 18.8, and 16.9% (p = 0.52), respectively. Only margin status, PSA level (>10), and Gleason score (>7) were associated with recurrence in univariate analysis (p < 0.05), and only the margin status and the Gleason score were significant in multivariate analysis. The statistical power was 0.7. Overall, the 5-year PSA-free survival rate was 88%. The 5-year PSA-free survival rates for the specific surgical approaches were 87.8% in open cases, 88.1% in laparoscopic cases, and 89.6% in robot-assisted prostatectomies, and there was no statistical difference between the approaches (p = 0.93).


CONCLUSIONS
Although open radical prostatectomy remains the gold standard procedure, we found no differences between these three techniques regarding early oncologic outcomes. These results are still preliminary, however, and further studies of larger populations with a longer follow-up are needed to make any statement regarding surgical strategy.
Department of Urology, GHU EST, Assistance-Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, Faculté de Médecine Pierre et Marie Curie, Pitié-Salpétrière Hospital, University Paris VI, Paris, France.
Sarah J
SJ
Drouin
Christophe
C
Vaessen
Vincent
V
Hupertan
Eva
E
Comperat
Vincent
V
Misraï
Alain
A
Haertig
Marc-Olivier
MO
Bitker
Emmanuel
E
Chartier-Kastler
François
F
Richard
Morgan
M
Rouprêt
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000379:methods*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D012371:Robotics; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome