Long-term oncologic outcomes after radical prostatectomy in clinically localized prostate cancer: 10-year follow-up in Korea

PURPOSE: The clinical behavior of prostate cancer differs by race and ethnicity; however, data on the Korean population are scarce. We assessed the long-term oncologic outcomes of clinically localized prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy in Korean men. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed 786 clinically localized prostate cancer patients who underwent radical prostatectomy, from June 1993 to June 2008. Kaplan–Meier survival curve analysis and log-rank test were used to assess the oncologic outcomes. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 64.9±6.6 years. Pelvic lymph node dissection was performed in 373 patients. Pathologic T and N stage cancer with local advancement and invasion were detected by radical prostatectomy in 307 and 22 patients, respectively. In total, 38 patients who underwent adjuvant therapy were excluded from the analysis of progression after biochemical recurrence (BCR), which occurred in 261 men. In total, 219 patients underwent salvage treatment. Local recurrence and distant metastasis occurred in 109 and 42 patients, respectively; 36 patients experienced metastasis with local recurrence. Castration-resistant prostate cancer developed in 22 patients, and overall and disease-specific mortality was noted in 148 and 23 patients, respectively. The median duration from operation to BCR, BCR to metastasis, and metastasis to disease-specific death was 25, 40, and 22 months, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated the long-term prognosis of localized prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy among Koreans. Our results differ from those reported in the Western literature, with a lower prevalence of distant metastasis and shorter time to metastasis after BCR.