Safety and feasibility of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy for clinically localized prostate cancer in elderly Japanese patients

BACKGROUND This study was conducted to assess the safety and feasibility of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) for elderly Japanese (aged ≥ 70 years) patients with clinically localized prostate cancer (PCa). METHODS From April 2012 to March 2016, a total of 302 consecutive patients with clinically localized PCa underwent RARP at our institute. In this series, 109 (36.1%) and 193 (63.9%) of the patients were divided into older (aged ≥ 70 years) and younger (aged <70 years) groups, respectively. The correlation between the categorized patient age and various clinicopathological factors, including preoperative characteristics, perioperative outcome, and urinary continence outcome after RARP, was retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS Except for age and Gleason score at biopsy, there was no difference in the preoperative features between the two groups. A nonnerve-sparing RARP was performed more often in the younger group; however, other perioperative variables in the elderly group were comparable to those in the younger group. Similarly, the urinary continence rates at 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after the surgery were equally favorable in the younger and older groups. CONCLUSION RARP may be a reasonable therapeutic option for elderly patients with PCa and provides comparable perioperative and functional outcomes to those in younger patients.