For many people, prostate cancer is slow-growing and largely curable. But some develop high-risk prostate cancer. In this case, having a robotic prostatectomy (minimally invasive surgery to remove the entire prostate) is one of the best treatment methods. But how well does it work to keep someone’s cancer under control in the long-term?
That’s the question a recent Henry Ford Health study sought to answer. They followed almost 800 patients with high-risk prostate cancer for 20 years and found the prostate-specific survival rate was 72.2% – a promising outcome, considering the aggressiveness of the disease, says Firas Abdollah, M.D., a urologist at Henry Ford Health.
“While long-term outcomes of non-minimally invasive prostatectomy have already been reported, we’re one of the few institutions that have 20-year outcomes on robotic prostatectomy, as we were one of the first to perform the procedure robotically,” says Dr. Abdollah.
Before minimally invasive techniques, prostatectomy was performed via open surgery – meaning a larger incision was required, which led to more blood loss and slower recovery. Minimally invasive robotic surgery requires just a few small incisions, and robotic techniques give surgeons better magnification and a greater range of movement when performing the procedure.
Prostate Cancer Care
Prostatectomy + Additional Treatment To Manage High-Risk Prostate Cancer
The patients in the study had prostate cancer that had already spread to the lymph nodes or seminal vesicles (glands near the base of the prostate). While removing the prostate is important for this population, most of these patients also needed additional treatment – such as radiation and/or hormone therapy – to further control their cancer.
“About a month after surgery, we test someone’s PSA (prostate-specific antigen) level,” says Dr. Abdollah. “If the PSA is still detectable, that means they need radiation or hormone therapy right away. If it’s undetectable, we wait to see if it starts rising again. But the results from our study are encouraging. We can tell our patients that if you go through surgery and maybe additional treatment, too, then you can have a good outcome even 20 years afterward.”
Reviewed by Firas Abdollah, M.D., a urologist who sees patients at Henry Ford - Cancer in Detroit, Henry Ford Hospital and Henry Ford Medical Center – Sterling Heights. Dr. Abdollah specializes in robotic surgery for prostate cancer (as well as kidney, adrenal and bladder cancer) and is the vice-chair of academics and research for the department of urology.
