Cancer‐specific survival and predictors of prostate‐specific antigen recurrence and survival in patients with seminal vesicle invasion after radical prostatectomy

BACKGROUND: The objectives of the current study were to determine the long-term biochemical recurrence (BCR) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) rates for men with seminal vesicle invasion (SVI) and to identify risk factors for freedom from BCR and CSS in patients who received treatment in the prostate-specific antigen era and who had SVI identified at the time of radical prostatectomy (RP). METHODS: Prospective clinical, pathologic, and outcome data were collected for 5377 men who underwent RP between June 1983 and August 2004. There were 936 patients who were excluded because they received treatment before RP. Multivariable analysis was used to identify the factors that predicted BCR and CSS. RESULTS: Among 4441 eligible patients, 387 patients (8.7%) had SVI, and 91 of those 387 patients (24%) had lymph node involvement (LNI). In total, 210 patients experienced BCR. For patients without LNI, the 10-year and 15-year freedom from BCR rates were 36% and 32%, respectively, and the corresponding CSS rates were 89% and 81%, respectively. For the 91 men who had SVI and LNI, the 10-year BCR-free probability was 10%, but the 10-year CSS probability was 74%. By 10 years, patients with LNI were 3 times more likely to die from cancer than from other causes; nonetheless, 66% of patients were alive despite their advanced stage. The preoperative prostate-specific antigen level, extracapsular extension, LNI, and Gleason grade were associated independently with BCR. Gleason scores of 8 to 10 and LNI were significant predictors of CSS. CONCLUSIONS: SVI does not invariably signal BCR or death from cancer in patients who undergo RP and pelvic lymph node dissection. Fifteen years later, approximately 33% of men with SVI and negative lymph nodes are expected remain free of BCR, and CSS was surprisingly good.