Efficacy of Neoadjuvant Hormonal Therapy for High-Risk Prostate Cancer Undergoing Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy: A Retrospective Multicenter Study Using Propensity Score-Matched Analysis in Japan.

[INTRODUCTION] The potential improvement in oncological outcomes of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) with neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in patients with prostate cancer (PCa) who had high-risk or very-high risk disease (HR/VHR-PCa) remains controversial. This study evaluated the impact of neoadjuvant hormone therapy (NHT) on biochemical recurrence (BCR) following RARP.

[MATERIALS AND METHODS] A total of 1,203 patients with HR/VHR-PCa who underwent RARP at 6 centers in Japan were included. Patients were categorized into 2 groups: those who underwent RARP alone (RARP-alone group) and those who underwent RARP following NHT (NHT group). The primary endpoint was biochemical recurrence-free survival (BRFS) after RARP.

[RESULTS] A total of 976 patients were analyzed, including 140 patients in each group after propensity score matching. At a median follow-up of 47 months, BCR was observed in 40.7% of patients in the RARP-alone group and 31.4% in the NHT group (P = .106). BRFS rates did not significantly differ between the 2 groups (P = .671). The RARP-alone group tended to have slightly longer operative times and more positive surgical margins than the NHT group.

[CONCLUSION] This study suggests that NHT does not improve BRFS in patients with HR/VHR-PCa undergoing RARP. Further research is necessary to develop more effective neoadjuvant regimens for this patient population.