Kinetic analysis of prostatic volume in patients with stage D prostatic cancer treated with LHRH analogues in relation to prognosis.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the clinical usefulness of the kinetic analysis of prostatic volume in the prognosis of patients with Stage D prostatic cancer treated using luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) analogues.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The reduction of prostatic volume was monitored in 12 patients with Stage D prostatic cancer using transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) after treatment with LHRH analogues. Data obtained from the kinetic analysis of prostatic volume were compared with the prognosis.

RESULTS

All the patients having a reduction time, tau (derived from the kinetic analysis of prostatic volume change with time), of less than 41 days had neither clinical progression within 15 months nor death caused by prostatic cancer during the 5-year follow-up, while the disease-specific 5-year survival rate in patients having a tau of greater than 42 days was as low as 17%. The difference in both the progression and disease-specific survival between these groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05) despite the limited number of patients. In contrast, conventional prognostic parameters showed no significant predictability for prognosis with the exception of prostatic acid phosphatase, which correlated strongly with the occurrence of progression within 15 months.

CONCLUSION

The kinetic analysis of the change of prostatic volume using TRUS shows promise in the prognosis of the patients with Stage D prostatic cancer.