Head-to-head comparison of prostatic urethral lift and water vapor thermal therapy for the treatment of symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia: a real-life study

PURPOSE

This study aimed at reporting a head-to-head comparison between water vapor thermal therapy using the Rezūm™ system and prostatic urethral lift using the Urolift™ system in men with lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

From December 2017 to November 2019, consecutive patients who underwent Rezūm™ and Urolift™ procedures in two urology centers have been retrospectively considered. Only patients with a prostate size less than 80 mL were included. We used the PSM method to adjust baseline differences between both groups. The co-primary endpoint included the change in International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and IPSS- quality of life (QoL) from baseline to 12 months.

RESULTS

A total of 61 (52.1%) and 56 (47.9%) patients underwent Rezum™ and Urolift™ procedures, respectively. After PSM adjustment, 24 patients were included in both groups. No serious adverse events occurred (> Clavien II) in both groups. At 12 months, higher IPSS improvement was observed in the Rezum™ group (median:4 [IQR 3-5]) than in the Urolift™ group (median:8 [IQR 7-12]), without statistical difference (p = 0.08). The improvement in term of QoL at 12 m was similar (p = 0.43). The retreatment rates were 25% (Urolift™) and 8.3% (Rezum™), p = 0.24. Erection and ejaculatory function scores did not change significantly in either treatment group. Results in the full cohort showed that Rezum™ appeared to deliver greater improvements for IPSS and IPSS-QoL (p < 0.001 and p = 0.006, respectively) and lower reintervention rate (p = 0.006) than Urolift™.

CONCLUSIONS

In this small retrospective study, our results indicate that both Rezum™ and Urolift™ provide a clinically significant improvement in symptoms and QoL, although some of these improvements were greater in the Rezum™ arm. Future studies are needed to definitively assess which treatment would be best suited for each patient.