Is there a role for pelvic irradiation in localized prostate adenocarcinoma? Preliminary results of GETUG-01.

PURPOSE: To assess the benefit and toxicity and quality-of-life (QOL) outcomes of pelvic nodes irradiation in nonmetastatic prostate carcinoma patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between December 1998 and June 2004, 444 patients with T1b-T3, N0 pNx, M0 prostate carcinoma were randomly assigned to either pelvic and prostate radiotherapy or prostate radiotherapy only. Patients were stratified according to the prognostic factor of lymph node involvement (LNI). Short-term 6-month neoadjuvant and concomitant hormonal therapy was allowed only for patients in the high-risk group. The pelvic dose was 46 Gy. The total dose recommended to the prostate was changed during the course of the study from 66 Gy to 70 Gy. Criteria for progression-free survival (PFS) included biologic prostate-specific antigen recurrences or a local or metastatic evolution. Acute and late toxicities were recorded according to the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group and Late Effects in Normal Tissues Subjective, Objective, Management, and Analytic scales, respectively. The QOL outcome was recorded with the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire C30, the International Prostatic Symptom Score, and the Sexual Function Index scales. RESULTS: With a 42.1-month median follow-up time, the 5-year PFS and overall survival were similar in the two treatment arms for the whole series and for each stratified group. On multivariate analysis, low LNI risk and hormonal therapy were statistically associated with increased PFS. However, subgroup analyses based on these factors did not show any benefit for pelvic irradiation. There were no significant differences in acute and late digestive toxicities and in QOL outcomes. CONCLUSION: Pelvic node irradiation was well tolerated but did not improve PFS.

[Spinal cord metastasis from prostate cancer]. / Métastase dans la moelle épinière d'un cancer de la prostate.

The majority of spinal cord lesions observed in prostate cancer are related to extradural compression. Intradural (extramedullary or intramedullary) metastases are very rare. The authors report a case of probable carcinomatous myelitis secondary to prostate cancer in a 50-year-old man, 9 months after the initial diagnosis of advanced metastatic prostate cancer. Despite endocrine therapy initiated immediately after diagnosis, the patient rapidly developed leg pain due to vertebral osteolysis. He developed flaccid paraplegia despite radiotherapy of the lumbar spine combined with corticosteroid therapy and chemotherapy. Spinal cord magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed typical features of very probable carcinomatous myelitis in the cervicothoracic zone. The patient died shortly after without histological confirmation. Regardless of the primary cancer, intramedullary spinal cord metastases have a very poor prognosis. Based on a literature search, this case appears to be the first case related to prostatic cancer reported in the medical literature.

[Biochemical monitoring of prostate cancer treated exclusively by radiotherapy: prognostic value of pretreatment PSA, PSA nadir and PSA half-life]. / Suivi biologique du cancer de la prostate traité par radiothérapie exclusive: valeur pronostique du PSA pré-thérapeutique, du PSA Nadir et de la demi-vie du PSA.

OBJECTIVES: Retrospective evaluation of the prognostic value of pretreatment PSA, PSA nadir and PSA half-life compared to grade and stage after treatment of prostate cancer by radiotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 122 patients (19 T1 (15.6%), 31 T2a (25.4%), 26 T2b (21.3%), 20 T3a (16.4%), 19 T3b (15.6%), 7 Tx (5.7%)) treated by exclusive radiotherapy were studied with a median follow-up of 75.4 months. Treatment consisted of high energy irradiation to the prostate for 31 patients (25.4%) and to the pelvis and prostate for 91 patients (74.6%). PSA was assayed retrospectively. The influence of various parameters on the absence of laboratory failure, defined according to the ASTRO criteria, and on overall survival was studied by univariate and multivariate analysis with a Cox model. RESULTS: 29.5% of patients did not develop any biochemical recurrence after a mean follow-up of 82 months, while biochemical recurrence occurred in 70.5% of patients after a mean interval of 5 months. Among these patients, 28 (33%) developed clinical recurrence after a mean interval of 26 months (4 to 80 months) leading to death in 17 cases. The modalities of irradiation and pretreatment PSA had no influence on the prognosis. The median PSA nadir of patients without recurrence was 0.24 ng/ml. The recurrence rate was lower for a PSA nadir less than 0.5 ng/ml for biochemical recurrence (45.5% vs 86.8%) (p < 0.0001) and clinical recurrence (9.1% vs 31.6%) (p < 0.05). On multivariate analysis, the PSA nadir (p = 0.009), PSA half-life (p < 0.001) and Gleason score (p = 0.004) were prognostic factors influencing survival, while PSA nadir was the only prognostic factor for biochemical recurrence (p = 0.001). Classification of patients into two groups with a significantly different prognosis according to the presence or absence of at least two favourable prognostic factors (PSA nadir less than 0.5 ng/ml, Gleason score less than 7, PSA half-life greater than 6 months) showed that the 9-year mortality rate was twofold higher in the poor prognosis group than in the good prognosis group (85.5% versus 38.6%). CONCLUSION: A nadir PSA level less than 0.5 ng/ml, a PSA half-life greater than 6 months and a Gleason score less than 7 were predictive of a low risk of biochemical recurrence and prolonged survival after treatment by exclusive radiotherapy, in our patients.