Prostate cancer is one of the most common neoplasms in elderly males in Europe and is rapidly becoming a major health burden throughout the world. Radical prostatectomy is a first-line treatment in the case of organ-confined prostate cancer and in selected cases of locally advanced disease. Recent studies have suggested that the urinary bladder wall thickness (BWT) is an important predictor of an overactive bladder (OAB). This article focuses on a hypothesis for the mechanism of urine incontinence in patients after radical prostatectomy due to urinary bladder hypertrophy. To verify the possible influence of changes in the urinary bladder structure on urine incontinence development, we designed an experiment in which patients with prostate cancer were qualified for radical prostatectomy. Our hypothesis that urinary bladder hypertrophy influences urine incontinence development in patients after radical prostatectomy may provide an insight toward the prevention and control of urine incontinence after surgery by oral pharmacotherapy or intravesical onabotulinumtoxinA injections in pre-radical prostatectomy mode.
Keywords: hypertrophy; prostatectomy; structural changes; urinary bladder; urinary incontinence.