OBJECTIVETo analyze the risk factors to impact biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy.

METHODSA total of 1 090 patients who received radical prostatectomy from May 2002 to December 2013 in Department of Urology of Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center were recruited. The average age of the patients was 67.9 years (ranged from 41 to 84 years) and the average preoperative prostate specific antigen (PSA) level was 32.7 (ranged from 3.2 to 256.3) µg/L. The distribution of patients with respect to clinical stage was: 20.09% (219/1 090) had T1, 50.09% (546/1 090) had T2 and 29.82% (325/1 090) had T3. The biochemical-free-survival curve was drawn by Kaplan-Meier method and the univariate and multivariate Cox regression models were used to evaluate the clinical and pathological variables for the development of biochemical recurrence.

RESULTSOf all the 1 090 patients, the biochemical recurrence free survival was 95.99%, 81.90% and 70.89% at 1, 3 and 5 years. PSA level at diagnosis (P=0.000), neo-adjuvant hormonal therapy (P=0.001), pre-operative Gleason score (P=0.000), clinical stage (P=0.010), surgical margin status (P=0.028), post-operative Gleason score (P=0.000), pathological stages (P=0.000) and pelvic lymph-node metastasis (P=0.000) were associated with biochemical recurrence in the univariate analysis. However, in the multivariate analysis, only PSA level at diagnosis (P=0.000), pre-operative Gleason score (P=0.020), pathological stages (P=0.014) and pelvic lymph-node metastasis (P=0.017) were independent prognostic factors.

CONCLUSIONFor the patients who received radical prostatectomy, PSA level at diagnosis, pre-operative Gleason score, pathological stages and pelvic lymph-node metastasis status are independent prognostic factors for biochemical recurrence.