Prospective Multicenter Comparison of Open and Robotic Radical Prostatectomy: The PROST-QA/RP2 Consortium

PURPOSE: To evaluate the comparative effectiveness of robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) and open radical prostatectomy (ORP) in a multicenter study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We evaluated men with localized prostate cancer at eleven high-volume academic medical centers in the United States from the PROST-QA (2003–2006) and the PROST-QA/RP2 cohorts (2010–2013) with a pre-specified goal of comparing RALP (N = 549) and ORP (N = 545). We measured longitudinal patient-reported health related quality of life (HRQOL) at pre-treatment, 2, 6, 12, and 24 months, and pathologic and peri-operative outcomes/complications. RESULTS: Demographics, cancer characteristics, and margin status were similar between surgical approaches. ORP subjects were more likely to undergo lymphadenectomy (89% vs 47%; p