Efficacy of androgen deprivation therapy for localized prostate cancer: analysis of pT0 evaluated by radical prostatectomy specimen.

AIM In order to investigate which types of localized prostate cancer can be treated most effectively by androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), cases of no residual cancer in radical prostatectomy specimens (pT0) after neoadjuvant ADT were analyzed. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with localized prostate cancer who underwent radical prostatectomy after neoadjuvant ADT were investigated retrospectively. RESULTS Thirty-two patients (24.2%) were diagnosed with pT0 disease by pathological evaluation. The positive-core proportion of prostate biopsy was lower, the duration of neoadjuvant ADT was longer, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) nadir before radical prostatectomy was lower in pT0 cases compared to non-pT0 cases, and these differences were statistically significant. The percentage of pT0 cases with PSA nadir <0.2 ng/ml and <0.008 ng/ml before radical prostatectomy were 29.2% (21 out of 72 cases) and 83.3% (5 out of 6 cases), respectively. The positive-core proportion of prostate biopsy and PSA nadir before radical prostatectomy had a significant impact on pT0 status after neoadjuvant ADT. CONCLUSION ADT for localized prostate cancer is thought to be highly effective in cases with low cancer volume. ADT is effective in cases of localized prostate cancer with PSA below the levels of detection by supersensitive PSA assay, and such cases show no cancer recurrence. Treatment options in such cases include intermittent or discontinuation of ADT.