Appropriate candidates for hemiablative focal therapy are infrequently encountered among men selected for radical prostatectomy in contemporary cohort.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the prevalence and pathologic features of men with unilateral prostate cancer at radical prostatectomy (RP), because it has recently been proposed that men with small-volume, well-differentiated, unilateral prostate cancer can be treated with focal therapy.

METHODS

The records of 1467 consecutive men who underwent open RP by a single surgeon from January 2000 to June 2007 were reviewed after institutional review board approval. The RP pathologic reports were analyzed to determine the frequency of unilateral or bilateral disease, surgical margin status, presence of extracapsular extension, seminal vesicle invasion, Gleason score, percentage of tumor involvement (PTI), prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, and prostate volume. Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the relationship between these factors and the detection of unilateral disease.

RESULTS

Unilateral cancer was identified in 313 of 1467 patients (21.3%). Of these patients, 206 had a PTI of < or = 5%, 40 had a PTI of 5%-10%, 8 had a PTI of 10%-15%, and 40 had a PTI > 15%. The factors significantly associated with unilateral disease on univariate analysis were PTI, PSA level, pathologic Gleason score, seminal vesicle invasion, and extracapsular extension. The PSA level and seminal vesicle invasion remained significant predictors on multivariate analysis. Overall, 163 men (11.1%) had unilateral, low-risk disease (defined as a PSA level < 10 ng/mL, Gleason score < 7, and PTI < 10%).

CONCLUSIONS

Although candidates for focal therapy exist among men undergoing RP within a contemporary cohort, they represent a small minority. Before proceeding with focal therapy, the urology community must identify accurate methods of candidate selection.