PSA status after neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy before high-dose-rate brachytherapy as biomarker for prediction of long-term outcome in high-risk prostate cancer patients.

Abstract

301 Background: The aim is to investigate the clinical significance of biochemical response after Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) prior to high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) for early identification of patients at increased risk of recurrence. Measured outcomes included biochemical relapse free survival (bRFS), distant metastasis free survival (DMFS) and overall survival (OS). Methods: A total of 324 patients with high-risk Prostate Cancer (PCa) were identified in the Norwegian Radium Hospital brachytherapy database. Neo-adjuvant ADT was administered for 3-6 months, followed by two 10 Gy HDR-BT treatments to the prostate, each spaced by two weeks, followed by conformal external beam radiation to 50 Gy to the prostate gland and seminal vesicles. Total length of ADT ranged from 12 to 36 months. PSA (ng/mL) and testosterone values (T, nmol/L) after 3-6 months of neo-adjuvant ADT were measured. Kaplan Meier and Cox regression analyses were performed. Results: Median age at diagnosis was 66 years and median follow-up was 10 years. At last follow-up, 277 patients (85,2%) were alive, 10 patients (3.1%) had died of prostate cancer and 37 patients (11.4%) died of other causes. 24 patients (7.4%) had biochemical relapse and 9 patients (2.8%) had distant metastasis within the first 5 years. Patients with PSA > 1 after neo-adjuvant therapy had 4.3 (95%CI 1.7 to 11.1) higher odds of biochemical relapse within 5 years compared to patients with PSA < 1 (p = 0.002). ROC analysis confirmed that PSA < 1 had a prediction accuracy of 0.76 (sensitivity 68% and specificity 67%). T < 0.7 and PSA < 1 after neo-adjuvant therapy were associated with improved bRFS, DMFS and OS (p < 0.001). Neither the length of neo-adjuvant nor total ADT treatment impacted outcomes (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Dose intensification with 2 HDR-BT boosts resulted in excellent survival in our cohort. PSA > 1 after neo-adjuvant ADT may be able to predict patients at increased risk of relapse and worse OS and identify patients in whom increased monitoring and/or intervention is warranted. ADT > 1 year did not improve outcome, indicating that shorter course of ADT may be used.