Clinical utility of the percentage of positive prostate biopsies in defining biochemical outcome after radical prostatectomy for patients with clinically localized prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: To determine the clinical utility of the percentage of positive prostate biopsies in predicting prostate-specific antigen (PSA) outcome after radical prostatectomy (RP) for men with PSA-detected or clinically palpable prostate cancer. METHODS: A Cox regression multivariable analysis was used to determine whether the percentage of positive prostate biopsies provided clinically relevant information about PSA outcome after RP in 960 men while accounting for the previously established risk groups that are defined according to pretreatment PSA level, biopsy Gleason score, and the 1992 American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) clinical T stage. The findings were then tested using an independent surgical database that included data for 823 men. RESULTS: Controlling for the known prognostic factors, the percentage of positive prostate biopsies added clinically significant information (P <.0001) regarding time to PSA failure after RP. Specifically, 80% of the patients in the intermediate-risk group (1992 AJCC T2b, or biopsy Gleason 7 or PSA > 10 ng/mL and

Pretreatment nomogram for prostate-specific antigen recurrence after radical prostatectomy or external-beam radiation therapy for clinically localized prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: To present nomograms providing estimates of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) failure-free survival after radical prostatectomy (RP) or external-beam radiation therapy (RT) for men diagnosed during the PSA era with clinically localized disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A Cox regression multivariable analysis was used to determine the prognostic significance of the pretreatment PSA level, 1992 American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) clinical stage, and biopsy Gleason score in predicting the time to posttherapy PSA failure in 1,654 men with T1c,2 prostate cancer managed with either RP or RT. RESULTS: Pretherapy PSA, AJCC clinical stage, and biopsy Gleason score were independent predictors (P < .0001) of time to posttherapy PSA failure in patients managed with either RP or RT. Two-year PSA failure rates derived from the Cox regression model and bootstrap estimates of the 95% confidence intervals are presented in the format of a nomogram stratified by the pretreatment PSA, AJCC clinical stage, biopsy Gleason score, and local treatment modality. CONCLUSION: Men at high risk (> 50%) for early (< or = 2 years) PSA failure could be identified on the basis of the type of local therapy received and the clinical information obtained as part of the routine work-up for localized prostate cancer. Selection of these men for trials evaluating adjuvant systemic and improved local therapies may be justified.

The combination of preoperative prostate specific antigen and postoperative pathological findings to predict prostate specific antigen outcome in clinically localized prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: The independent clinical and pathological predictors of time to postoperative prostate specific antigen (PSA) failure were used to identify prostate cancer patients at high risk for this end point. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A Cox regression multivariate analysis was used to determine the prognostic significance of preoperative PSA, pathological stage, prostatectomy Gleason score and margin status in predicting the time to postoperative PSA failure in 862 men with palpable (T2) or PSA detected (T1c) prostate cancer. The 2-year PSA failure rates with 95% confidence intervals were calculated using the results of Cox regression analysis and a bootstrap procedure with 2,000 replications, respectively, and are presented in nomogram format stratified by preoperative PSA, pathological stage, prostatectomy Gleason score and margin status. RESULTS: Preoperative PSA (p = 0.0001), pathological stage (p< or =0.002), margin status (p = 0.0001) and prostatectomy Gleason score (p = 0.034) were independent predictors of time to postoperative PSA failure. CONCLUSIONS: Patients at high risk for early PSA failure could be identified postoperatively on the basis of preoperative PSA and prostatectomy pathology. Adjuvant therapy trials in these select patients may be justified.