Are all prostate cancer patients "fit" for salvage radiotherapy?

The indication for salvage radiotherapy(RT)(SRT)in patients with biochemically-recurrent prostate cancer after surgery is based on prostate-specific antigen(PSA)levels at the time of biochemical recurrence.Although there are clear criteria(pT3-pT4 disease and/or positive margins)for the use of adjuvant radiotherapy,no specific clinical or tumour-related criteria have yet been defined for SRT.In retrospective series,5-year biochemical progression-free survival(PFS)ranges from 35%-85%,depending on the PSA level at the start of RT.Two phase 3 trials have compared SRT with and without androgen deprivation therapy(ADT),finding that combined treatment(SRT+ADT)improves both PFS and overall survival.Similar to adjuvant RT,the indication for ADT is based on tumour-related factors such as PSA levels,tumour stage,and surgical margins.The number of patients referred to radiation oncology departments for SRT continues to rise.In the present article,we define the clinical,therapeutic,and tumour-related factors that we believe should be evaluated before prescribing SRT.In addition,we propose a decision algorithm to determine whether the patient is fit for SRT.This algorithm will help to identify patients in whom radiotherapy is likely to improve survival without significantly worsening quality of life.

Factors influencing biochemical recurrence in patients who have received salvage radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy： a systematic review and meta-analysis

Several studies have evaluated the risk factors influencing biochemical recurrence （BCR） of prostate cancer in patients receiving salvage radiotherapy （SRT） for BCR after radical prostatectomy （RP）, but the results remain conflicting. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis to resolve this conflict. We searched the following databases： PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science using the following terms in ＂All fields＂： ＂salvage radiation therapy,＂ ＂salvage IMRT, S-IMRT, salvage radiotherapy, SRT, radical prostatectomy,＂ ＂RP, biochemical recurrence,＂ ＂BCR,＂ ＂biochemical relapse.＂ Eleven studies, with a total of 1383 patients, were included in our meta-analysis. Of all the variables, only Gleason score （GS） 〉7 （odds ratio [OR]： 3.82; 95% confidence interval [CI]： 2.60-5.64） and pathological tumor （pT） stage 〉3a （OR： 1.82; 95% Ch 1.36-2.42） were positively correlated with BCR. However, SRT combined with androgen deprivation therapy （ADT） （OR： 0.63; 95% CI： 0.44-0.90） and radiation therapy （RT） dose 〉64 Gy （OR： 0.35; 95% CI： 0.19-0.64） were negatively correlated with BCR. Perineural invasion （OR： 2.64; 95% CI： 1.11-6.26）, preoperative prostate-specific antigen （PSA） 〉10 ng m1-1 （OR： 1.36; 95% CI： 0.94-1.96）, positive surgical margin （OR： 0.92; 95% Ch 0.7-1.19）, and seminal vesicle involvement （SVI） （OR： 1.09; 95% Ch. 0.83-1.43） had no effect on BCR. Our meta-analysis indicated that pT stage, GS, RT dose, and SRT combined with ADT may influence BCR, while preoperative PSA, surgical margin, perineural invasion, and SVI have only a weak effect on BCR.