Outcomes in Locally Advanced Non-Metastatic Prostate Cancer Presenting with Low PSA at Diagnosis

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Men with low serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and high Gleason grade group (GGG) are thought to have poor outcomes compared to high PSA secretors. However, there is limited outcome data to support this. We report clinical outcomes from a single-institutional cohort of men presenting with locally advanced prostate cancer but low serum PSA.

MATERIALS/METHODS

Data from electronic database of a UK tertiary cancer center was acquired for men with histological diagnosis of prostate adenocarcinoma, GGG 4 or 5, stage ≥cT3a, and PSA <10ug/L at diagnosis. Men with metastatic disease, or prior androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) were excluded. Biochemical progression was defined as per Phoenix criteria (PSA > nadir+2) for primary radiotherapy, or PSA >0.2 ug/L after primary prostatectomy (and post-operative radiotherapy, if received). Overall survival (OS, from date of diagnosis to death), metastasis-free survival (MFS, from diagnosis to first recorded metastasis or death), and biochemical progression free survival (bPFS, from diagnosis to biochemical progression or death) were estimated by Kaplan Meier method, and multivariable analysis performed using Cox proportional hazards method.

RESULTS

Medical records of 7,200 men presenting with non-metastatic prostate cancer from 2013 to 2021 were screened, of which 270 men satisfying the eligibility criteria were included for this study. Initial analysis of 123 men shows median PSA at presentation 7.1 ug/L (IQR 5.6-8.5), and median age 70 years (IQR 65-75). Histology was GGG 4 in 47.6% and 5 in 52.4%. Tumor stage was cT3a in 56.6%, cT3b in 36.9%, and T4 in 6.6%. Pelvic nodes were involved in 5% patients. Majority (83.7%) were treated with radical radiotherapy (external beam alone 64.2%, brachytherapy boost 19.5%), with 24 months ADT; 11.4% underwent radical prostatectomy, and 4.9% received ADT alone. Three men (2.4%) received docetaxel, and one received abiraterone. At a median follow up of 66 months (IQR 27-77), 36 (29.3%) patients had biochemical failure. Total 23 (18.6%) patients had metastases at recurrence, which were visceral in 4%, bone-only in 10%, and nodal-only in 4%. Total 38 (30.6%) patients had died, 23% with prostate cancer and 11% due to other causes. Five-year bPFS was 65.9%, MFS 69.0%, and OS was 77.4%. GGG 5 (versus 4) was associated with significantly worse 5-year bPFS (59.4% vs 73.9%, HR 1.8, 95% CI 1.0-3.2, p = 0.05) and MFS (59.2% vs 81.6%, HR 2.2, 1.2-4.2, p = 0.02). On multivariable analysis including age and PSA at diagnosis, only GGG 5 was associated with worse bPFS (HR 1.8, 1.0-3.3, p = 0.05) and MFS (HR 2.42, 1.25-4.67, p = 0.009).

CONCLUSION

Men with low secreting but high Gleason grade group prostate cancer are a relatively rare group with poor clinical outcomes despite being non-metastatic. Ongoing work (expected completion June 2023) will analyze remaining cases, and compare outcomes within an expanded multicentric cohort with matched controls having elevated PSA at presentation.

Changes in the Management of Patients having Radical Radiotherapy for Lung Cancer during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the UK

AIMS

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, guidelines on reduced fractionation for patients treated with curative-intent radiotherapy were published, aimed at reducing the number of hospital attendances and potential exposure of vulnerable patients to minimise the risk of COVID-19 infection. We describe the changes that took place in the management of patients with stage I-III lung cancer from April to October 2020.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Lung Radiotherapy during the COVID-19 Pandemic (COVID-RT Lung) is a prospective multicentre UK cohort study. The inclusion criteria were: patients with stage I-III lung cancer referred for and/or treated with radical radiotherapy between 2nd April and 2nd October 2020. Patients who had had a change in their management and those who continued with standard management were included. Data on demographics, COVID-19 diagnosis, diagnostic work-up, radiotherapy and systemic treatment were collected and reported as counts and percentages. Patient characteristics associated with a change in treatment were analysed using multivariable binary logistic regression.

RESULTS

In total, 1553 patients were included (median age 72 years, 49% female); 93 (12%) had a change to their diagnostic investigation and 528 (34%) had a change to their treatment from their centre's standard of care as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Age ≥70 years, male gender and stage III disease were associated with a change in treatment on multivariable analysis. Patients who had their treatment changed had a median of 15 fractions of radiotherapy compared with a median of 20 fractions in those who did not have their treatment changed. Low rates of COVID-19 infection were seen during or after radiotherapy, with only 21 patients (1.4%) developing the disease.

CONCLUSIONS

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in changes to patient treatment in line with national recommendations. The main change was an increase in hypofractionation. Further work is ongoing to analyse the impact of these changes on patient outcomes.