title: Surgical castration efficiently delays the time of starting a systemic chemotherapy in castration-resistant prostate cancer patients refractory to initial androgen-deprivation therapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of surgical castration, particularly delaying the time to entrance of systemic chemotherapy, in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) patients who were refractory to initial combination androgen deprivation therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed the clinical data of 14 CRPC patients diagnosed at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (SNUBH) from November 2008 through May 2015. After exclusion of three patients, we finally analyzed the baseline characteristics of 11 CRPC patients. We also assessed the delaying time of docetaxel administration, which was defined as response duration, after surgical castration.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After bilateral orchiectomy, the treatment response rate was 45.4% and the median duration of response was 9 months (range 4-48 mo). Responders had less aggressive biopsy Gleason scores compared to nonresponders. Notably, responders showed the reducing pattern of serum prostate specific antigen levels, while nonresponders demonstrated increasing tendency after surgical castration. Moreover, responders also presented with a reduction pattern of serum testosterone levels, whereas nonresponders showed an increasing pattern of testosterone levels after bilateral orchiectomy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In summary, despite the limited number of cases for convincing evidence, our results shed light again on the clinical benefits of surgical castration prior to the systemic chemotherapy in some CRPC patients after initial hormone therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, South Korea.
authors.forename: Minyong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, South Korea.
authors.forename: Sangchul
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jong Jin
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, South Korea.
authors.forename: Sung Kyu
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, South Korea.
authors.forename: Sang Eun
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, South Korea.
authors.forename: Seok-Soo
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Byun
keywords: Castration-resistant prostate cancer; Clinical benefits; Surgical castration; Taxane-based chemotherapy