Objectives: We intend to assess the prognostic influence of surgical margins on the biochemical progression free survival (BPFS) in patients classified as pT2 after radical prostatectomy.
Methods: We analyze a series of 1,132 T1-T2 patients with prostate cancer treated with radical prostatectomy between 1989-2009. PT3b, pT4 and patients with lymph node involvement were excluded from the series. The clinicopathologic variables and the BPFS of pT2(+), pT2(-) and pT3 patients are compared. The influential clinicopathologic variables in the BPFS are identified in the pT2(+) group and risk groups are designed.
Results: Of 1,051 patients evaluated finally: 598 (59,6) were pT2(-) 163 (15,5%) pT2(+)80 (7,6%) pT3a(-) and 210 (20%) pT3(+). Clinical characteristics of pT2(+). It is homogeneous with the pT2(-) group and significantly better than pT3(+) group in all the clinicopathologic variables evaluated. 5 and 10 year BPFS of the pT2(68 ± 3% and 57 ± 5%) is significantly worse than pT2( -)(87 ± 1% and 79 ± 2%), similar to pT3a(-) (75 ± 5% and 64 ± 7%and better than pT3(+) (44 ± 3% and (36 ± 3%) BPFS pT2(+) influential factors: Univariate study : Pathological Gleason score 7-10 (HR:2.1 95% IC: 1.1-4.1), (p=0.02)MRI that indicates T3 (HR:3.2 95%IC: 1.4-7.3), (p=0.04) PSA > 15 ng-ml (HR:4 95% IC: 2-8.2), (p < 0.0001) and high risk D'Amico group (HR:3.3 95%IC: 1.3-8.5), (p=0.01) are influential variables. A risk model with the involved variables can be designed. Each variable present is a point. Two groups are designed : Group 1 (0-1 variable) Group 2 (2-3 variables). 5 and 10 year BPFS for Group 1 are 71±5% and 69 ± 5%, and are 37 ± 12% and 22 ± 11% for Group 2. (p < 0.0001).
Conclusions: Surgical margins in pT2 patients have independent influence in the BPFS. The group is heterogeneous and it can be divided into two risk groups accordingly to the BPFS influential variables: a larger group (86% pT2(+) with worse prognosis than pT2(-), and a smaller group (remaining 14%) with similar prognosis to pT3 (+).It is likely that pT2(+) patients are a mixture of understaged patients with others with iatrogenic margins or false margins due to poor assessment of the surgical specimen.