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Background/Objectives: Prostate cancer (PCa) is prevalent among men over 70. Treatment may involve interventions like radical prostatectomy. The objective of this study was to investigate the combination of adverse pathology patterns on PCa progression through the Briganti 2012 nomogram and EAU risk classes in elderly patients treated with robotic surgery. Methods : A cohort of 1047 patients treated from January 2013 to December 2021 was categorized as being older if aged 70 or above. The adverse pathology risk scores were ranked from zero to three. These scores were then analyzed for correlations with the Briganti 2012 nomogram via EAU risk groups and for PCa progression. Results : Overall, older age was detected in 287 patients who had higher rates of adverse pathology features combined into a pattern risk score of 3. Within each age group, the adverse pathology risk score patterns were positively predicted by the Briganti 2012 nomogram across EAU prognostic groups. After a median (95% CI) follow-up period of 95 months, PCa progression occurred in 237 patients, of whom 68 were elderly and more likely to progress as adverse pathology patterns increased, particularly for a risk score of 3 ( p < 0.0001), which was almost three times higher than that in younger patients ( p < 0.0001). Conclusions : Managing PCa in elderly patients is challenging due to their increasing life expectancy. The Briganti 2012 nomogram effectively predicts disease progression in this population. Elderly prostate cancer patients have higher severe pathology rates predicted independently by the Briganti 2012 nomogram, with nearly triple the risk of progression compared to that in younger cases, necessitating tailored treatment approaches.

Abstract: The study aimed to test if Briganti's 2012 nomogram could be associated with the risk of prostate cancer (PCa) progression in European Association of Urology (EAU) intermediate-risk patients treated with robotic surgery. From January 2013 to December 2021, 527 consecutive patients belonging to the EAU intermediate-risk class were selected. Briganti's 2012 nomogram, which predicts the risk of pelvic lymph node invasion (PLNI), was assessed as a continuous and dichotomous variable that categorized up to the median of 3.0%. Disease progression defined as biochemical recurrence and/or metastatic progression was evaluated by Cox proportional hazards (univariate and multivariate analysis). After a median follow-up of 95.0 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 78.5-111.4), PCa progression occurred in 108 (20.5%) patients who were more likely to present with an unfavorable nomogram risk score, independently by the occurrence of unfavorable pathology including tumor upgrading and upstaging as well as PLNI. Accordingly, as Briganti's 2012 risk score increased, patients were more likely to experience disease progression (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.060; 95% CI: 1.021-1.100; P = 0.002); moreover, it also remained significant when dichotomized above a risk score of 3.0% (HR = 2.052; 95% CI: 1.298-3.243; P < 0.0001) after adjustment for clinical factors. In the studied risk population, PCa progression was independently predicted by Briganti's 2012 nomogram. Specifically, we found that patients were more likely to experience disease progression as their risk score increased. Because of the significant association between risk score and tumor behavior, the nomogram can further stratify intermediate-risk PCa patients, who represent a heterogeneous risk category for which different treatment paradigms exist., (Copyright © 2024 Copyright: ©The Author(s)(2024).)

Background and Objectives : We sought to investigate whether the 2012 Briganti nomogram may represent a potential prognostic factor of prostate cancer (PCa) progression after surgical treatment beyond European Association of Urology (EAU) risk categories. Materials and Methods : From January 2013 to December 2021, data on PCa patients treated with robot-assisted radical prostatectomy at a single tertiary referral center were extracted. The 2012 version of the Briganti nomogram assessing the risk of pelvic lymph node invasion was used. Here, the nomogram score was evaluated both as a continuous and a categorical variable. The association between variables and disease progression after surgery was evaluated through Cox regression models. Results : Overall, 1047 patients were identified. According to the EAU classification system, 297 (28.4%) patients were low-risk, 527 (50.3%) intermediate-risk, and 223 (21.3%) high-risk. The median (interquartile range) 2012 Briganti nomogram score within the investigated population was 3% (2-8%). Median (95% Confidence Interval [CI]) follow-up was 95 (91.9-112.4) months. Disease progression occurred in 237 (22.6%) patients, who were more likely to have an increasing 2012 Briganti nomogram score (Hazard Ratio [HR]: 1.03; 95%CI: 1.01-1.81; p = 0.015), independently of unfavorable issues at clinical presentation. Moreover, the nomogram score stratified according to tertiles (<3% vs. 3-8% vs. ≥8%) hold significance beyond EAU risk categories: accordingly, the risk of disease progression increased as the score increased from the first (reference) to the second (HR: 1.50; 95%CI: 1.67-3.72; p < 0.001) up to the third (HR: 3.26; 95%CI: 2.26-4.72; p < 0.001) tertile. Conclusions : Beyond EAU risk categories, the 2012 Briganti nomogram represented an independent predictor of PCa progression after surgery. Likewise, as the nomogram score increased so patients were more likely to experience disease progression. Accordingly, it may allow further stratification of patients within each risk category to modulate appropriate treatment paradigms.

Introduction: Active surveillance (AS) is a viable strategy for managing small renal masses (SRMs) in lieu of immediate surgery, but concerns persist regarding its impact on delayed partial nephrectomy (PN) outcomes. We aimed to compare perioperative and pathological outcomes of patients initially on AS for SRMs, later undergoing PN, against those undergoing immediate PN., Materials and Methods: Data were extracted from a prospective institutional database (January 2018-September 2023) for patients with cT1a renal masses. Only malignancies confirmed at final pathology were included. Baseline patient and tumor characteristics and the time from AS enrollment to PN were recorded. Surgical, renal functional, and final pathology outcomes were analyzed, including histology, tumor size, pT stage, upstaging rate, and positive surgical margins. Predictors of upstaging were identified using logistic regression models., Results: Analysis included 356 patients: 307 immediate PN and 49 deferred PN after a median of 18 months in AS. Groups had comparable baseline characteristics; no significant differences emerged in surgical and postoperative outcomes. Final pathology revealed no significant disparities in tumor size, histology, positive margins, or upstaging, though pT stage distribution differed (2.4 % versus 4.3 % for pT3a, immediate versus deferred, p = 0.04). Univariable analysis identified RENAL Score (OR 1.29, 95 % C.I. 1.09-1.53, p = 0.003) and clinical tumor size (OR 1.16, 95 % C.I. 1.10-1.22, p < 0.01) as upstaging predictors, confirmed by multivariable analysis (p < 0.01)., Conclusion: Our comparative analysis found no worsened perioperative or adverse pathological outcomes in patients with deferred PN, supporting the safety of this approach in managing SRMs, at least as an initial option., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: We sought to investigate predictors of unfavorable tumor upgrading in very favorable intermediate-risk (IR) prostate cancer (PCa) patients treated with robot-assisted radical prostatectomy, in addition to evaluate how it may affect the risk of disease progression., Methods: A very favorable subset of IR PCa patients presenting with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) < 10 ng/mL, percentage of biopsy positive cores (BPC) < 50%, and either International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) grade group 1 and clinical stage T2b or ISUP grade group 2 and clinical stage T1c-2b was identified. Unfavorable pathology at radical prostatectomy was defined as the presence of ISUP grade group > 2 (unfavorable tumor upgrading), extracapsular extension (ECE), and seminal vesicle invasion (SVI). Disease progression was defined as the event of biochemical recurrence and/or local recurrence and/or distant metastases. Associations were evaluated by Cox regression and logistic regression analyses., Results: Overall, 210 patients were identified between January 2013 and October 2020. Unfavorable tumor upgrading was detected in 71 (33.8%) cases, and adverse tumor stage, including ECE or SVI in 18 (8.6%) and 11 (5.2%) patients, respectively. Median (interquartile range) follow-up was 38.5 (16-61) months. PCa progression occurred in 24 (11.4%) patients. Very favorable IR PCa patients with unfavorable tumor upgrading at final pathology showed a persistent risk of disease progression, which hold significance after adjustment for all factors (Hazard Ratio [HR]: 5.95, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.97-17.92, p = 0.002) of which PSA was an independent predictor (HR: 1.52, 95% CI 1.12-2.08, p = 0.008). Moreover, these subjects were more likely to belong to the biopsy ISUP grade group 2., Conclusions: Very favorable IR PCa patients hiding unfavorable tumor upgrading were more likely to experience disease progression. Unfavorable tumor upgrading involved about one-third of cases and was less likely to occur in patients presenting with biopsy ISUP grade group 1. Tumor misclassification is an issue to discuss, when counseling this subset of patients for active surveillance because of the risk of delayed active treatment., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Background: To investigate the potential prognostic impact of Briganti's 2012 nomogram in EAU intermediate-risk patients presenting with an unfavorable tumor grade and treated with robot-assisted radical prostatectomy, eventually associated with extended pelvic lymph node dissection., Materials and Methods: From January 2013 to December 2021, the study included 179 EAU intermediate-risk patients presenting with an unfavorable tumor grade (ISUP 3), eventually associated with a PSA of 10-20 ng/ml and/or cT-2b. Briganti's 2012 nomogram was assessed as both a continuous and dichotomous variable, categorized according to the median (risk score ⩾7% vs <7%). Disease progression, defined as biochemical recurrence and/or metastatic progression, was evaluated using Cox proportional hazards in both univariate and multivariate analyses., Results: Disease progression occurred in 43 (24%) patients after a median (95% CI) follow-up of 78 (65.7-88.4) months. The nomogram risk score predicted disease progression, evaluated both as a continuous variable (hazard ratio, HR = 1.064; 95% CI: 1.035-1.093; p  < 0.0001) and as a categorical variable (HR = 3.399; 95% CI: 1.740-6.638; p  < 0.0001). This association was confirmed in multivariate analysis, where hazard ratios remained consistent even after adjusting for clinical and pathological factors., Conclusions: In EAU intermediate-risk PCa cases presenting with an unfavorable tumor grade and treated surgically, Briganti's 2012 nomogram was associated with disease progression after surgery. Consequently, as the nomogram risk score increased, patients were more likely to experience PCa progression, facilitating the stratification of the patient population into distinct prognostic subgroups., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Purpose: We assessed the prognostic impact of the 2012 Briganti nomogram on prostate cancer (PCa) progression in intermediate-risk (IR) patients presenting with PSA <10ng/mL, ISUP grade group 3, and clinical stage up to cT2b treated with robot assisted radical prostatectomy eventually associated with extended pelvic lymph node dissection., Materials and Methods: From January 2013 to December 2021, data of surgically treated IR PCa patients were retrospectively evaluated. Only patients presenting with the above-mentioned features were considered. The 2012 Briganti nomogram was assessed either as a continuous and a categorical variable (up to the median, which was detected as 6%, vs. above the median). The association with PCa progression, defined as biochemical recurrence, and/or metastatic progression, was evaluated by Cox proportional hazard regression models., Results: Overall, 147 patients were included. Compared to subjects with a nomogram score up to 6%, those presenting with a score above 6% were more likely to be younger, had larger/palpable tumors, presented with higher PSA, underwent tumor upgrading, harbored non-organ confined disease, and had positive surgical margins at final pathology. PCa progression, which occurred in 32 (21.7%) cases, was independently predicted by the 2012 Briganti nomogram both considered as a continuous (Hazard Ratio [HR]:1.04, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]:1.01-1.08;p=0.021), and a categorical variable (HR:2.32; 95%CI:1.11-4.87;p=0.026), even after adjustment for tumor upgrading., Conclusions: In IR PCa patients with PSA <10ng/mL, ISUP grade group 3, and clinical stage up to cT2b, the 2012 Briganti nomogram independently predicts PCa progression. In this challenging subset of patients, this tool can identify prognostic subgroups, independently by upgrading issues., Competing Interests: None declared., (Copyright® by the International Brazilian Journal of Urology.)

Objectives: To assess the prognostic impact and predictors of adverse tumor grade in very favorable low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer (PCa) patients treated with robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP)., Methods: Data of low- and intermediate PCa risk-class patients were retrieved from a prospectively maintained institutional database. Adverse tumor grade was defined as pathology ISUP grade group > 2. Disease progression was defined as a biochemical recurrence event and/or local recurrence and/or distant metastases. Associations were assessed by Cox's proportional hazards and logistic regression model., Results: Between January 2013 and October 2020, the study evaluated a population of 289 patients, including 178 low-risk cases (61.1%) and 111 intermediate-risk subjects (38.4%); unfavorable tumor grade was detected in 82 cases (28.4%). PCa progression, which occurred in 29 patients (10%), was independently predicted by adverse tumor grade and biopsy ISUP grade group 2, with the former showing stronger associations (hazard ratio, HR = 4.478; 95% CI: 1.840-10.895; p = 0.001) than the latter (HR = 2.336; 95% CI: 1.057-5.164; p = 0.036). Older age and biopsy ISUP grade group 2 were independent clinical predictors of adverse tumor grade, associated with larger tumors that eventually presented non-organ-confined disease., Conclusions: In a very favorable PCa patient population, adverse tumor grade was an unfavorable prognostic factor for disease progression. Active surveillance in very favorable intermediate-risk patients is still a hazard, so molecular and genetic testing of biopsy specimens is needed.

Background: The aim is to evaluate factors impacting operating time (OT) during robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) with or without extended pelvic lymph node dissection (ePLND) for prostate cancer., Methods: Overall, 1289 patients underwent RARP from January 2013 to December 2021. ePLND was performed in 825 cases. Factors potentially associated with OT variations were assessed. Three low-volume (LVS) and two high-volume surgeons (HVS) performed the procedures. A linear regression model was computed to assess associations with OT variations., Results: When RARP was performed by HVS an OT decrease was observed independently by significant clinical (Body Mass Index [BMI]; prostate volume [PV]) and anatomical/perioperative features (prostate weight [PW]; intraoperative blood loss [BL]) both in clinical (change in OT: -42.979 minutes; 95% CI: -51.789; -34.169; P<0.0001) and anatomical/perioperative models (change in OT: -40.020 minutes; 95% CI: -48.494; -31.587; P<0.0001). A decreased OT was observed in clinical (change in OT: -27.656 minutes; 95% CI: -33.449; -21.864; P<0.0001) and anatomical/perioperative (change in OT: -24.935 minutes; 95% CI: -30.562; -19.308; P<0.0001) models also in case of RARP with ePLND performed by HVS, independently by BMI, PV, PSA as well as for PW, seminal vesicle invasion, positive surgical margins, and BL., Conclusions: In a tertiary academic referral center, OT decreased when RARP was performed by HVS, independently of adverse clinical and anatomical/perioperative factors. Available OT loads can be planned to optimize waiting lists, teaching tasks, operative costs, and surgeon's volume.

The study aimed to evaluate the impact of abdominal drain placement (vs. omission) on perioperative outcomes of robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN), focusing on complications, time to canalization, deambulation, and pain management. A prospectively-maintained institutional database was queried to get data of patients who underwent RAPN for renal masses between January 2018 and May 2023 at our Institution. Baseline, surgical, and postoperative data were collected. Retrieved patients were stratified based upon placement of abdominal drain (Y/N). Descriptive analyses comparing the two groups were conducted as appropriate.77 After adjusting for potential confounders, a logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate significant predictors of any grade and "major" complications. 342 patients were included: 192 patients in the "drain group" versus 150 patients in the "no-drain" group. Renal masses were larger (p < 0.001) and at higher complexity (RENAL score, p = 0.01), in the drain group. Procedures in the drain group had statistically significantly longer operative time, ischemia time, and higher blood loss (all p-values < 0.001). The urinary collecting system was more likely involved compared to the no-drain group (p = 0.01). At multivariate analysis, abdominal drainage was not a significant predictor of any grade (OR 0.79, 95%CI 0.33-1.87) and major postoperative complications (OR 3.62, 95%CI 0.53-9.68). Patients in the drain group experienced a statistically significantly higher hemoglobin drop (p < 0.01). Moreover, they exhibited statistically significant higher paracetamol consumption (p < 0.001) and need for additional opioids (p = 0.02). In summary, the study results suggest the safety of omitting drain placement and remark on the need for personalized decision-making, which considers patient and procedural factors., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objectives: We tested whether the 2012 Briganti nomogram for the risk of pelvic lymph node invasion (PLNI) may represent a predictor of disease progression after surgical management in high-risk (HR) prostate cancer (PCa) patients according to the European Association of Urology., Methods: Between January 2013 and December 2021, HR PCa patients treated with robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) and extended pelvic lymph node dissection (ePLND) were identified. The 2012 Briganti nomogram was evaluated as a continuous and categorical variable, which was dichotomized using the median. The risk of disease progression, defined as the event of biochemical recurrence and/or local recurrence/distant metastases was assessed by Cox regression models., Results: Overall, 204 patients were identified. The median 2012 Briganti nomogram score resulted 12.0% (IQR: 6.0-22.0%). PLNI was detected in 57 (27.9%) cases. Compared to patients who had preoperatively a 2012 Briganti nomogram score ≤12%, those with a score >12% were more likely to present with higher percentage of biopsy positive cores, palpable tumors at digital rectal examination, high-grade cancers at prostate biopsies, and unfavorable pathology in the surgical specimen. At multivariable Cox regression analyses, disease progression, which occurred in 85 (41.7%) patients, was predicted by the 2012 Briganti nomogram score (HR: 1.02; 95%CI: 1.00-1.03; p  = 0.012), independently by tumors presenting as palpable (HR: 1.78; 95%CI: 1.10.2.88; p  = 0.020) or the presence of PLNI in the surgical specimen (HR: 3.73; 95%CI: 2.10-5.13; p  = 0.012)., Conclusions: The 2012 Briganti nomogram represented an independent predictor of adverse prognosis in HR PCa patients treated with RARP and ePLND. As the score increased, so patients were more likely to experience disease progression, independently by the occurrence of PLNI. The association between the nomogram, unfavorable pathology and tumor behavior might turn out to be useful for selecting a subset of patients needing different treatment paradigms in HR disease., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.)

Background and Objective: The Hugo RAS and DaVinci Xi systems are used for performing robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). This study aims to compare these two platforms providing granular and comprehensive data on their intraoperative performance., Methods: The Comparison of Outcomes of Multiple Platforms for Assisted Robotic surgery-Prostate (COMPAR-P) trial is a prospective post-market study (clinicaltrials.org NCT05766163). Enrollment began in March 2023, allocating patients to DaVinci or Hugo RAS for RARP, without selection criteria, for up to 50 consecutive cases. Two experienced console surgeons performed the procedures, following the same technique. Evaluation focused on timing, learning curves, malfunctioning events, complications, and users' satisfaction, using standard statistical methods, including the cumulative summation analysis (CUSUM) for the learning curve assessment., Key Findings and Limitations: Fifty patients each were enrolled for DaVinci (DV-RARP) and Hugo RAS (H-RARP) RARP. Baseline features were balanced. DV-RARP showed significantly shorter "setup" and "console" phase durations than H-RARP (37 vs 55 min and 97 vs 126 min, respectively, p  < 0.001). A longitudinal timing analysis revealed DV-RARP's flat line, while H-RARP showed a modest decline with breakpoints at 22 and 17 procedures by CUSUM for the setup and console phases. The numbers of malfunctioning events were 4 (DV-RARP) and 20 (H-RARP). DV-RARP had high user satisfaction, while the user satisfaction of H-RARP varied. The comparison was between the first 50 H-RARP and the last 50 DV-RARP cases performed at our institution. This likely accounts for the observed differences in setup and console times between the cohorts. The specialized expertise of the surgeons involved could limit the generalizability of our findings., Conclusions and Clinical Implications: This prospective study compared unselected patients who underwent DV-RARP and H-RARP. More malfunctioning events occurred in case of Hugo RAS, but surgical outcomes were similar. Longer operative times for Hugo RAS were attributed to meticulous care with the novel platform. Improvement potential was evident within a few procedures, providing valuable insights for adopting this new platform., Patient Summary: This study compared two advanced robotic systems, DaVinci and Hugo RAS, used to remove the prostate in patients diagnosed with prostate cancer. While both systems showed similar surgical outcomes, the newer Hugo RAS system required more meticulous movements, leading to slightly longer operation times. The findings suggest that, with further experience, both systems can provide effective treatment options for patients undergoing prostate surgery., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

To evaluate the prognostic potential of the 2012 Briganti nomogram for pelvic lymph node invasion on disease progression after surgery in intermediate-risk (IR) prostate cancer (PCa) patients with favorable tumor grade (International Society of Urological Pathology grade group 1 or 2), eventually associated with adverse clinical features as PSA between 10 and 20 ng/mL and/or clinical stage T2b. All IR PCa patients treated with robot-assisted radical prostatectomy and eventually extended pelvic lymph node dissection at the Department of Urology of the Integrated University Hospital of Verona between 2013 and 2021, with the abovementioned features, and available follow-up were considered. The 2012 Briganti nomogram score was assessed both as a continuous and dichotomous variable, where a mean risk score of 4% was used a threshold. The independent predictor status of the nomogram score on disease progression defined as the occurrence of biochemical recurrence and/or metastatic progression was evaluated using the Cox regression analysis. Overall, 348 patients were enrolled in the study. Median (interquartile range) follow-up was 98 (83.5-112.4) months. At multivariable Cox regression analysis, PCa progression, which occurred in 65 (18.7%) cases, was independently predicted only by the 2012 Briganti nomogram score evaluated as a continuous variable, among all considered clinical features (HR 1.16; 95%CI 1.08-1.24; p < 0.001). In addition, patients presenting with a nomogram score ≥ 4% were more likely to experience disease progression even after adjustment for clinical (HR 2.22, 95%CI 1.02-4.79; p = 0.043) and pathological (HR 1.80; 95%CI 1.06-3.05; p = 0.031) factors. In the examined patient population, the 2012 Briganti nomogram predicted PCa progression after surgery. Accordingly, as the risk score increased, patients were more likely to progress, independently by the occurrence of adverse pathology in the surgical specimen. The 2012 Briganti nomogram score categorized according to the mean value allowed to identify prognostic subgroups., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Treatment outcomes in intermediate-risk prostate cancer (PCa) may be impaired by adverse pathology misclassification including tumor upgrading and upstaging. Clinical predictors of disease progression need to be improved in this category of patients., Objectives: To identify PCa prognostic factors to define prognostic groups in intermediate-risk patients treated with robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP)., Design: Data from 1143 patients undergoing RARP from January 2013 to October 2020 were collected: 901 subjects had available follow-up, of whom 479 were at intermediate risk., Methods: PCa progression was defined as biochemical recurrence and/or local recurrence and/or distant metastases. Study endpoints were evaluated by statistical methods including Cox's proportional hazards, Kaplan-Meyer survival curves, and binomial and multinomial logistic regression models., Results: After a median (interquartile range) of 35 months (15-57 months), 84 patients (17.5%) had disease progression, which was independently predicted by the percentage of biopsy-positive cores ⩾ 50% and the International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) grade group 3 for clinical factors and by ISUP > 2, positive surgical margins and pelvic lymph node invasion for pathological features. Patients were classified into clinical and pathological groups as favorable, unfavorable (one prognostic factor), and adverse (more than one prognostic factor). The risk of PCa progression increased with worsening prognosis through groups. A significant positive association was found between the two groups; consequently, as clinical prognosis worsened, the risk of detecting unfavorable and adverse pathological prognostic clusters increased in both unadjusted and adjusted models., Conclusion: The study identified factors predicting disease progression that allowed the computation of highly correlated prognostic groups. As the prognosis worsened, the risk of PCa progression increased. Intermediate-risk PCa needs more prognostic stratification for appropriate management., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (© The Author(s), 2024.)

Objective: To evaluate the influence of endogenous testosterone density (ETD) and tumor load density (TLD) in the surgical specimen of prostate cancer (PCa) patients., Methods: ETD was assessed as the ratio of endogenous testosterone (ET) to prostate volume (PV). TLD was calculated as the ratio of tumor load (TL) to prostate weight. Preoperative prostate-specific antigen relative densities (PSAD) and percentage of biopsy-positive cores (BPCD) were also assessed. The association of high TLD (above the first quartile) with clinical and pathological factors was assessed by the logistic regression model (univariate and multivariate analysis)., Results: Between November 2014 and December 2019, ET was measured in 805 cases treated with radical prostatectomy (RP). Median (IQR) of ET and ETD was 412 (321.4-519 ng/dL) and 9.8 (6.8-14.4 ng/(dLxmL)) as well as for TL and TLD was 20 (10-30%) and 0.33 (0.17-0.58%/gr), respectively. As a result, high TLD was detected in 75% of cases. A positive independent association was found between high TLD and ETD. Accordingly, as ETD levels increased, the risk of detecting high TLD in the surgical specimen increased, regardless of PSAD and BPCD., Conclusions: At diagnosis of PCa, a positive independent association was found between ETD and risk of high TLD. Subjects with increasing ETD levels were more likely to have high TLD, associated with unfavorable pathology features. The positive association between ETD and TLD in the prostate microenvironment might adversely influence PCa's natural history., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess more clinical and pathological factors associated with prostate cancer (PCa) progression in high-risk PCa patients treated primarily with robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) and extended pelvic lymph node dissection (ePLND) in a tertiary referral center., Materials and Methods: In a period ranging from January 2013 to October 2020, RARP and ePLND were performed on 180 high-risk patients at Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata of Verona (Italy). PCa progression was defined as biochemical recurrence/persistence and/or local recurrence and/or distant metastases. Statistical methods evaluated study endpoints, including Cox's proportional hazards, Kaplan-Meyer survival curves, and binomial logistic regression models., Results: The median age of included patients was 66.5 [62-71] years. Disease progression occurred in 55 patients (30.6%), who were more likely to have advanced age, palpable tumors, and unfavorable pathologic features, including high tumor grade, stage, and pelvic lymph node invasion (PLNI). On multivariate analysis, PCa progression was predicted by advanced age (≥ 70 years) (HR = 2.183; 95% CI = 1.089-4377, p = 0.028), palpable tumors (HR = 3.113; 95% CI = 1.499-6.465), p = 0.002), and PLNI (HR = 2.945; 95% CI = 1.441-6.018, p = 0.003), which were associated with clinical standard factors defining high-risk PCa. Age had a negative prognostic impact on elderly patients, who were less likely to have palpable tumors but more likely to have high-grade tumors., Conclusions: High-risk PCa progression was independently predicted by advanced age, palpable tumors, and PLNI, which is associated with standard clinical prognostic factors. Consequently, with increasing age, the prognosis is worse in elderly patients, who represent an unfavorable age group that needs extensive counseling for appropriate and personalized management decisions., (© 2023. The Author(s).)