Adjuvant radiotherapy versus wait-and-see after radical prostatectomy: 10-year follow-up of the ARO 96-02/AUO AP 09/95 trial

Eur Urol. 2014 Aug;66(2):243-50. doi: 10.1016/j.eururo.2014.03.011. Epub 2014 Mar 21.

Abstract

Background: Local failure after radical prostatectomy (RP) is common in patients with cancer extending beyond the capsule. Three prospectively randomized trials demonstrated an advantage for adjuvant radiotherapy (ART) compared with a wait-and-see (WS) policy.

Objective: To determine the efficiency of ART after a 10-yr follow-up in the ARO 96-02 study.

Design, setting, and participants: After RP, 388 patients with pT3 pN0 prostate cancer (PCa) were randomized to WS or three-dimensional conformal ART with 60 Gy. The present analysis focuses on intent-to-treat patients who achieved an undetectable prostate-specific antigen after RP (ITT2 population)--that is, 159 WS plus 148 ART men.

Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: The primary end point of the study was progression-free survival (PFS) (events: biochemical recurrence, clinical recurrence, or death). Outcomes were compared by log-rank test. Cox regression analysis served to identify variables influencing the course of disease.

Results and limitations: The median follow-up was 111 mo for ART and 113 mo for WS. At 10 yr, PFS was 56% for ART and 35% for WS (p<0.0001). In pT3b and R1 patients, the rates for WS even dropped to 28% and 27%, respectively. Of all 307 ITT2 patients, 15 died from PCa, and 28 died for other or unknown reasons. Neither metastasis-free survival nor overall survival was significantly improved by ART. However, the study was underpowered for these end points. The worst late sequelae in the ART cohort were one grade 3 and three grade 2 cases of bladder toxicity and two grade 2 cases of rectum toxicity. No grade 4 events occurred.

Conclusions: Compared with WS, ART reduced the risk of (biochemical) progression with a hazard ratio of 0.51 in pT3 PCa. With only one grade 3 case of late toxicity, ART was safe.

Patient summary: Precautionary radiotherapy counteracts relapse after surgery for prostate cancer with specific risk factors.

Keywords: Adjuvant radiotherapy; Prostate cancer; Prostate-specific antigen; Radical prostatectomy; Wait-and-see.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma / blood
  • Adenocarcinoma / pathology*
  • Adenocarcinoma / therapy*
  • Aged
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal / therapeutic use
  • Disease Progression
  • Disease-Free Survival
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasm Staging
  • Neoplasm, Residual
  • Prostate-Specific Antigen / blood
  • Prostatectomy
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / blood
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / therapy*
  • Radiotherapy, Adjuvant* / adverse effects
  • Salvage Therapy*
  • Survival Rate
  • Time Factors
  • Watchful Waiting*

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal
  • Prostate-Specific Antigen