Overdiagnosis and stage migration of ISUP 2 disease due to mpMRI-targeted biopsy: facts or fictions.

Recently, the use of targeted biopsy has been subject to critics, as it has been speculated that targeted biopsy might lead to overdiagnosis of clinically significant prostate cancer (PCa). In this study, we tried to evaluate whether targeted sampling in patients with organ-confined disease and ISUP 2 disease was associated with downgrading of the prostatectomy specimen, hence, leading to an unnecessary treatment, in terms of radical surgery. We relied on a prospectively-maintained multi-institutional database and identified 1293 patients with ISUP 2 disease on targeted biopsy only. Median (IQR) patients' age at diagnosis was 65 (60, 70) years. Median PSA was 6.8 (5.0, 9.6) ng/ml. Overall, only 33 (2.6%) patients presented downgrading on their RP specimens. Patients who experienced downgrading were biopsied more frequently trans-rectally, had a lower total tumor length in mm and lower percentage of maximum core involvement and lower rates of cancer on systematic biopsy (all p ≤ 0.03). The strongest factors associated with reduced risk of downgrading were total tumor length, in mm, (OR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.62,0.82, p < 0.001) and transperineal biopsy route (OR: 0.38, 95% CI: 0.14,1.00, p = 0.05).

Risk Stratification of Patients Candidate to Radical Prostatectomy Based on Clinical and Multiparametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging Parameters: Development and External Validation of Novel Risk Groups.

BACKGROUND: Despite the key importance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters, risk classification systems for biochemical recurrence (BCR) in prostate cancer (PCa) patients treated with radical prostatectomy (RP) are still based on clinical variables alone. OBJECTIVE: We aimed at developing and validating a novel classification integrating clinical and radiological parameters. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A retrospective multicenter cohort study was conducted between 2014 and 2020 across seven academic international referral centers. A total of 2565 patients treated with RP for PCa were identified. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Early BCR was defined as two prostate-specific antigen (PSA) values of ≥0.2 ng/ml within 3 yr after RP. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regressions tested time and predictors of BCR. Development and validation cohorts were generated from the overall patient sample. A model predicting early BCR based on Cox-derived coefficients represented the basis for a nomogram that was validated externally. Predictors consisted of PSA, biopsy grade group, MRI stage, and the maximum diameter of lesion at MRI. Novel risk categories were then identified. The Harrel's concordance index (c-index) compared the accuracy of our risk stratification with the European Association of Urology (EAU), Cancer of the Prostate Risk Assessment (CAPRA), and International Staging Collaboration for Cancer of the Prostate (STAR-CAP) risk groups in predicting early BCR. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Overall, 200 (8%), 1834 (71%), and 531 (21%) had low-, intermediate-, and high-risk disease according to the EAU risk groups. The 3-yr overall BCR-free survival rate was 84%. No differences were observed in the 3-yr BCR-free survival between EAU low- and intermediate-risk groups (88% vs 87%; p = 0.1). The novel nomogram depicted optimal discrimination at external validation (c-index 78%). Four new risk categories were identified based on the predictors included in the Cox-based nomogram. This new risk classification had higher accuracy in predicting early BCR (c-index 70%) than the EAU, CAPRA, and STAR-CAP risk classifications (c-index 64%, 63%, and 67%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: We developed and externally validated four novel categories based on clinical and radiological parameters to predict early BCR. This novel classification exhibited higher accuracy than the available tools. PATIENT SUMMARY: Our novel and straightforward risk classification outperformed currently available preoperative risk tools and should, therefore, assist physicians in preoperative counseling of men candidate to radical treatment for prostate cancer.