Safety and feasibility of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy for clinically localized prostate cancer in elderly Japanese patients

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to assess the safety and feasibility of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) for elderly Japanese (aged ≥ 70 years) patients with clinically localized prostate cancer (PCa). METHODS: From April 2012 to March 2016, a total of 302 consecutive patients with clinically localized PCa underwent RARP at our institute. In this series, 109 (36.1%) and 193 (63.9%) of the patients were divided into older (aged ≥ 70 years) and younger (aged <70 years) groups, respectively. The correlation between the categorized patient age and various clinicopathological factors, including preoperative characteristics, perioperative outcome, and urinary continence outcome after RARP, was retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Except for age and Gleason score at biopsy, there was no difference in the preoperative features between the two groups. A nonnerve-sparing RARP was performed more often in the younger group; however, other perioperative variables in the elderly group were comparable to those in the younger group. Similarly, the urinary continence rates at 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after the surgery were equally favorable in the younger and older groups. CONCLUSION: RARP may be a reasonable therapeutic option for elderly patients with PCa and provides comparable perioperative and functional outcomes to those in younger patients.