A 5-Year Contemporary Nationwide Evolution of the Radical Prostatectomy Landscape

The evolution in the past decade of recommendations for prostate cancer (PCa) management, from screening to surgical treatment, may have affected the radical prostatectomy (RP) landscape. However, comprehensive data at a national level remain scarce. We extracted 5-yr data for RP patients in France from the central database of the national health care system. The primary endpoints were surgical approach (open [ORP], laparoscopic [LRP], and robot-assisted RP [RARP]), length of stay (LOS), and complication and readmission rates. The annual number of RPs was stable during the study period. The proportion of RARPs increased from 39.8% in 2015 to 52.6% in 2019, whereas the proportion of ORPs decreased from 34.4% to 24.5%. LOS continuously decreased over time irrespective of the surgical approach. The proportion of centres in the highest quartile of hospital volume increased from 22.0% to 28.3% (p = 0.006). LOS and complication and readmission rates were significantly lower (p < 0.001) in the LRP cohort at each time point. National trends confirmed that RARP progressively replaced ORP, with a stable number of annual RPs over time. Greater centralisation and better early postoperative outcomes were observed with laparoscopy. PATIENT SUMMARY: We reviewed French data for patients undergoing removal of the prostate for prostate cancer between 2015 and 2019. We found that robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery has increased over time and the length of hospital stays has decreased. Rates of complications and readmission were lower with minimally invasive surgery.