Background: Since the introduction of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, isolated local recurrence after radical prostatectomy (RP) can be... Show moreBackground: Since the introduction of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, isolated local recurrence after radical prostatectomy (RP) can be delineated accurately.Objective: To describe and evaluate surgical technique, biochemical response, and therapy-free survival (TFS) after salvage surgery in patients with local recurrence in the seminal vesicle bed.Design, setting, and participants: We retrospectively assessed 40 patients treated with open salvage surgery in two centres (11/2014-02/2020). All patients presented with biochemical recurrence (BCR) after RP with a singular local recurrence at PSMA PET imaging. Thirty-three (82.5%) patients received previous salvage radiation therapy.Surgical procedure: Open salvage surgery with PSMA radioguidance.Measurements: Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) nadir and percentage of patients with complete biochemical response (cBR) without further treatment (PSA < 0.2 ng/ml) after 6-16 wk were assessed. BCR-free survival and TFS were calculated using Kaplan-Meier estimates. Clavien-Dindo complications were evaluated.Results and limitations: Prior to salvage surgery, median PSA was 0.9 ng/ml (interquartile range [IQR]: 0.5-1.7 ng/ml). Postoperatively, median PSA nadir was 0.1 ng/ml (IQR: 0-0.4 ng/ml). In 31 (77.5%) patients, cBR was observed. During the median follow-up of 24.4 months, 22 (55.0%) patients experienced BCR and 12 (30.0%) received further therapy. At 1 yr of follow-up, BCR-free survival rate was 62.2% and TFS rate was 88.3%. Three (7.5%) Clavien-Dindo grade III complications were observed. The main limitations are the retrospective design, short follow-up, and lack of a control group.Conclusions: Salvage surgery of local recurrence within the seminal vesicle bed is feasible. It may present an opportunity in selected, locally recurrent patients to prolong BCR-free survival and increase TFS. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings.Patient summary: We looked at the outcomes from prostate cancer patients with locally recurrent disease after radical prostatectomy and radiotherapy. We found that surgery in well-selected patients may be an opportunity to prolong treatment-free survival. (C) 2020 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Show less
Maurer, T.; Robu, S.; Schottelius, M.; Schwamborn, K.; Rauscher, I.; Bereg, N.S. van den; ... ; Eibere, M. 2019
Background: Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted positron emission tomography (PET) can visualize metastatic lesions in recurrent prostate cancer (PC). However, reliable... Show moreBackground: Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted positron emission tomography (PET) can visualize metastatic lesions in recurrent prostate cancer (PC). However, reliable identification of small and/or atypically localized lesions during salvage surgery procedures is challenging.Objective: To describe the technique, feasibility, and short-term outcomes of (99m)Technetium (Tc-99m)-based PSMA-radioguided surgery (Tc-99m-PSMA-RGS) for removal of recurrent PC lesions.Design, setting, and participants: Thirty-one consecutive patients with evidence of recurrent PC on Ga-68-PSMA N,N'-bis[2-hydroxy-5-(carboxyethyl)benzyl] ethylenediamine-N,N'-diacetic acid (Ga-68-PSMA-11) PET after radical prostatectomy undergoing Tc-99m-PSMA-RGS were retrospectively analyzed.Surgical procedure: Salvage surgery with intraoperative radioguidance using a gamma probe was performed after intravenous application of Tc-99m-PSMA investigation and surgery (mean activity 571 MBq, mean time to surgery 19.7 h).Measurements: Radioactive rating (positive vs negative) of resected tissue was compared with the findings of postoperative histopathological analysis. Best prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response without additional treatment was determined after 8-16 wk postoperatively. Biochemical recurrence- and treatment-free survival was evaluated.Results and limitations: In total,132 tissue specimens were removed, of which 58 showed metastatic involvement on histological analysis. On a specimen basis, radioactive rating yielded a sensitivity of 83.6% (confidence interval [CI]: 70.9-91.5%), a specificity of 100%, and an accuracy of 93.0% (CI: 85.5-96.7%). With Tc-99m-PSMA-RGS, all lesions visualized on preoperative Ga-68-PSMA-11 PET could be removed. Moreover, Tc-99m-PSMA-RGS detected additional metastases as small as 3 mm in two patients. Thirteen patients suffered from complications related to surgery (Clavien-Dindo grade 1: 12 patients; grade 3a: one patient). A PSA reduction below 0.2 ng/ml was observed in 20 patients. Thirteen patients remained biochemical recurrence free after a median follow-up of 13.8 (range: 4.6-18.3) mo. Twenty patients continued to be treatment free after a median follow-up of 12.2 (range: 5.5-18.3) mo.Conclusions: As a new technique for surgical guidance, Tc-99m-PSMA-RGS is feasible, and has been proved to be of high value for successful intraoperative detection and removal of metastatic lesions in PC patients scheduled for salvage surgery. Its long-term impact on outcome has to be evaluated.Patient summary: In this report, we evaluated a novel technique to identify metastatic lesions intraoperatively in patients with recurrent prostate cancer to facilitate surgical removal. After intravenous injection of radioactive molecules that specifically bind to prostate cancer cells that show increased expression of the prostate-specific membrane antigen, we were able to detect and remove these metastatic lesions during surgery. Following salvage surgery, 41.9% of patients remained biochemical recurrence free (median follow-up of 13.8 mo) and 64.5% continued to be treatment free (median follow-up of 12.2 mo). (C) 2018 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Show less
