Radical Prostatectomy, External Beam Radiotherapy, or External Beam Radiotherapy With Brachytherapy Boost and Disease Progression and Mortality in Patients With Gleason Score 9-10 Prostate Cancer
Authors: Amar U. Kishan, Ryan R. Cook, Jay P. Ciezki, Ashley E. Ross, Mark M. Pomerantz, Paul L. Nguyen, Talha Shaikh, Phuoc T. Tran, Kiri A. Sandler, Richard G. Stock, Gregory S. Merrick, D. Jeffrey Demanes, Daniel E. Spratt, Eyad I. Abu-Isa, Trude B. Wedde, Wolfgang Lilleby, Daniel J. Krauss, Grace K. Shaw, Ridwan Alam, Chandana A. Reddy, Andrew J. Stephenson, Eric A. Klein, Daniel Y. Song, Jeffrey J. Tosoian, John V. Hegde, Sun Mi Yoo, Ryan Fiano, Anthony V. D’Amico, Nicholas G. Nickols, William J. Aronson, Ahmad Sadeghi, Stephen Greco, Curtiland Deville, Todd McNutt, Theodore L. DeWeese, Robert E. Reiter, Johnathan W. Said, Michael L. Steinberg, Eric M. Horwitz, Patrick A. Kupelian, Christopher R. King
Journal: JAMA (2018)

<h3>Importance</h3> The optimal treatment for Gleason score 9-10 prostate cancer is unknown. <h3>Objective</h3> To compare clinical outcomes of patients with Gleason score 9-10 prostate cancer after definitive treatment. <h3>Design, Setting, and Participants</h3> Retrospective cohort study in 12 tertiary centers (11 in the United States, 1 in Norway), with 1809 patients treated between 2000 and 2013. <h3>Exposures</h3> Radical prostatectomy (RP), external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) with androgen deprivation therapy, or EBRT plus brachytherapy boost (EBRT+BT) with androgen deprivation therapy. <h3>Main Outcomes and Measures</h3> The primary outcome was prostate cancer–specific mortality; distant metastasis-free survival and overall survival were secondary outcomes. <h3>Results</h3> Of 1809 men, 639 underwent RP, 734 EBRT, and 436 EBRT+BT. Median ages were 61, 67.7, and 67.5 years; median follow-up was 4.2, 5.1, and 6.3 years, respectively. By 10 years, 91 RP, 186 EBRT, and 90 EBRT+BT patients had died. Adjusted 5-year prostate cancer–specific mortality rates were RP, 12% (95% CI, 8%-17%); EBRT, 13% (95% CI, 8%-19%); and EBRT+BT, 3% (95% CI, 1%-5%). EBRT+BT was associated with significantly lower prostate cancer–specific mortality than either RP or EBRT (cause-specific HRs of 0.38 [95% CI, 0.21-0.68] and 0.41 [95% CI, 0.24-0.71]). Adjusted 5-year incidence rates of distant metastasis were RP, 24% (95% CI, 19%-30%); EBRT, 24% (95% CI, 20%-28%); and EBRT+BT, 8% (95% CI, 5%-11%). EBRT+BT was associated with a significantly lower rate of distant metastasis (propensity-score-adjusted cause-specific HRs of 0.27 [95% CI, 0.17-0.43] for RP and 0.30 [95% CI, 0.19-0.47] for EBRT). Adjusted 7.5-year all-cause mortality rates were RP, 17% (95% CI, 11%-23%); EBRT, 18% (95% CI, 14%-24%); and EBRT+BT, 10% (95% CI, 7%-13%). Within the first 7.5 years of follow-up, EBRT+BT was associated with significantly lower all-cause mortality (cause-specific HRs of 0.66 [95% CI, 0.46-0.96] for RP and 0.61 [95% CI, 0.45-0.84] for EBRT). After the first 7.5 years, the corresponding HRs were 1.16 (95% CI, 0.70-1.92) and 0.87 (95% CI, 0.57-1.32). No significant differences in prostate cancer–specific mortality, distant metastasis, or all-cause mortality (≤7.5 and &gt;7.5 years) were found between men treated with EBRT or RP (cause-specific HRs of 0.92 [95% CI, 0.67-1.26], 0.90 [95% CI, 0.70-1.14], 1.07 [95% CI, 0.80-1.44], and 1.34 [95% CI, 0.85-2.11]). <h3>Conclusions and Relevance</h3> Among patients with Gleason score 9-10 prostate cancer, treatment with EBRT+BT with androgen deprivation therapy was associated with significantly better prostate cancer–specific mortality and longer time to distant metastasis compared with EBRT with androgen deprivation therapy or with RP.