Epirubicin-loaded beads transarterial prostatic arterial chemoembolization is a promising treatment for advanced prostate cancer with lower urinary tract obstruction or hematuria—a case series report

BACKGROUND: Prostatic arterial embolization (PAE) is an effective minimally invasive treatment for lower urinary tract obstruction and hematuria in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). This study was aim to evaluate the safety and short-term efficacy of drug epirubicin-loaded beads transarterial prostatic arterial chemoembolization (DEB-PACE) for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer (PC) with lower urinary tract obstruction or hematuria. METHODS: A total of 8 patients with advanced PC undergoing DEB-PACE from August 2020 to February 2022 were retrospectively enrolled. The patients were followed up at 1 week, 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after DEB-PACE. The origin of prostatic arteries, technical success, clinical success rate, duration of the indwelling urinary catheter, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), QoL score (quality of life), prostate volume (PV), prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level and complications were recorded. The short-term efficacy (changes in IPSS, PV and QoL value from baseline to 3 months) were analysed. RESULTS: There were 17 prostatic arteries in 8 patients, which mainly originated from internal pudendal artery (11/17, 64.7%), the technical success rate is 100%. After treatment, the symptoms of lower urethral obstruction in 8 patients were significantly improved that PSA, PV, IPSS and QoL level were significantly reduced. The catheter was successfully removed within 1 week on average, and 2 patients with hematuria disappeared within 5 days. The clinical success rate is 100%. At 1 month postoperatively, mean PV reduction was 30.28±6.963 cm(3) (P=0.0457), mean IPSS reduction was 21.13±2.887 points (P=0.0042), mean QoL reduction was 3.75±0.366 points (P=0.006). At 3 months postoperatively, mean PV reduction was 46.14±8.906 cm(3) (P=0.0112), mean IPSS reduction was 24.5±2.398 points (P=0.0003), mean QoL reduction was 4.25±0.25 points (P=0.0003). There were no serious complications occurred in all patients. CONCLUSIONS: DEB-PACE is a promising treatment for advanced PC with lower urinary tract obstruction or hematuria. However, the efficacy and safety of DEB-PACE for advanced PC is needed to validated by prospective large sample randomized controlled study.