Five-year oncological outcomes of endoscopic extraperitoneal radical prostatectomy (EERPE) for prostate cancer: results from a medium-volume UK centre

Objective: To determine the 5-year oncological outcomes of endoscopic extraperitoneal radical prostatectomy (EERPE) from a medium-volume centre, thereby providing much needed data on outcomes from the UK.

Patients and methods: From January 2006 to January 2012, 575 patients underwent EERPE for localized prostate cancer, performed by a single surgeon who had completed a modular training programme. Follow-up was as per local hospital policy and data were collected in our prospective database. A retrospective review of patient demographics, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, pathological T stages, Gleason scores, surgical margin status and biochemical recurrence (BCR) data was performed. BCR was defined as PSA >0.2 μg/L.

Results: The mean (range) patient age was 62 (40.3-76.5) years and the mean (range) follow-up was 30 (12-72) months. The median (interquartile range [IQR]) operating time was 135 (120-170) min and the median (IQR) blood loss was 200 (100-250) mL. Of the 575 patients, 135 (23.5%) had positive surgical margins (PSMs). The PSM rate for pT2 disease was 66/406 patients (16.3%) and for pT3 disease it was 68/168 patients (40.5%). Overall BCR-free survival at 5-years was 81.5%. Multivariate Cox analysis showed that PSMs, Gleason score, D'Amico risk category and pT stage were independent predictors of BCR-free survival.

Conclusions: This assessment of the oncological results of EERPE, which included the surgical learning curve, shows that the adoption of EERPE after mentored fellowship training translates into mid-term oncological outcomes in line with those of retropubic/transperitoneal laparoscopic approaches and with large-volume centres worldwide which have pioneered laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. The study shows that EERPE in a medium-volume second generation laparoscopic centre (that introduced EERPE after adequate training in pioneering centres) produces results with good 5-year oncological outcomes, similar to those of other major series, for patients in the UK.