Pathological stage and surgical margins are important predictors of prostate cancer recurrence after radical prostatectomy.
Cancers detected in a PSA-screening population from Tyrol, Austria, had a statistically significant lower rate of extracapsular extension and positive surgical margins than those found in a non-screened population despite similar preoperative PSA levels.
Researchers evaluated 997 radical prostatectomy patients from Innsbruck undergoing surgery between February 1999 through March 2006. Within that group, 806 were participants in the PSA screening Tyrol Prostate Cancer Demonstration Project and 191 represented the non-screening group. Preoperative total PSA, age, pathological characteristics and prostate volume were analyzed. Screen-detected cancers were significantly more likely to be organ confined at the time of treatment with radical prostatectomy.