Predictors of survival for prostate carcinoma patients treated with salvage radical prostatectomy after radiation therapy

BACKGROUND: Salvage radical prostatectomy is a treatment option for patients with recurrent cancer following radiation therapy. This study was conducted to identify predictors of survival for patients treated with salvage radical prostatectomy. METHODS: The authors studied 86 prostate carcinoma patients who underwent salvage radical prostatectomy for locally persistent or recurrent prostate carcinoma at Mayo Clinic between 1967 and 1996. The mean interval from radiation therapy to biopsy-proven recurrence was 3.7 years (range, 6 months to 17 years). Patient age at surgery ranged from 51 to 78 years (median, 66 years). The mean follow-up after surgery was 5.8 years (range, 1.0-15.2 years). Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify clinical and pathologic factors associated with distant metastasis free survival and cancer specific survival. RESULTS: Actuarial distant metastasis free survival, cancer specific survival, and overall survival were 83%, 91%, and 85% at 5 years and 69%, 64%, and 54% at 10 years, respectively. In multivariate analysis, radical prostatectomy Gleason score and DNA ploidy were independent predictors of distant metastasis free survival and cancer specific survival. CONCLUSIONS: Postirradiation Gleason score and DNA ploidy were highly predictive of the clinical outcomes of patients treated by salvage radical prostatectomy after radiation therapy.