Contemporary role of palliative cystoprostatectomy or pelvic exenteration in advanced symptomatic prostate cancer

Objective: To access the feasibility of palliative cystoprostatectomy/pelvic exenteration in patients with bladder/rectal invasion due to prostate cancer (PC). Patients and methods: Twenty-five men with cT4 PC were retrospectively identified in the institutional databases of six tertiary referral centers in the last decade. Local invasion was documented by CT or MRI scans and was confirmed by urethrocystoscopy. Oncological therapies, local symptoms, previous local treatments, time from diagnosis to intervention and type of surgical procedure were recorded. Patients were divided into groups: ADT group (12 pts) and 13 pts without any history of previous local/systemic treatments for PCa (nonADT groups). Perioperative complications were classified using the Clavien–Dindo system. Overall survival (OS) was defined as the time from surgery to death from any cause. A Cox regression analysis, stratified for ISUP score and previous hormonal treatment (ADT) was also performed for survival analysis. Results: Ileal conduit was the main urinary diversion in both cohorts. For the entire cohort, complication rate was 44%. No significant differences regarding perioperative complications and complication severity between both subgroups were observed (p = 0.2). Median follow-up was 15 months (range 3–41) for the entire cohort with a median survival of 15 months (95% CI 10.1–19.9). In Cox regression analysis stratified for ISUP score, no statistically significant differences in OS in patients with and without previous ADT before cystectomy or exenteration were observed (HR 3.26, 95% CI 0.62–17.23, p = 0.164). Conclusion: Palliative cystoprostatectomy and pelvic exenteration represent viable treatment options associated with acceptable morbidity and good short-term survival outcome.