Clinical Research Directory

quality of life assessed by the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC), the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form (SF-36) version 2, the Functional Assessment of cancer Therapy, General and Prostate specific (FACT-G and FACT-P, respectively), the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), and the International Index of Erectile Function (IIES). Quality of Life questionnaires are administered centrally by telephone interview before treatment and during follow-up at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after treatment the first year, then annually until 10 years, and every 5 years thereafter. Demographic and clinical characteristics at baseline are recorded at clinical sites and include age, Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA), Gleason grading, prostate volume, risk group and use of neoadjuvant hormonal treatment. According tho the national health guidelines participants are visited every 6-12 months after treatment.

The surgery group underwent radical retropubic prostatectomy. The surgery is performed by a technique based on a modification of the radical retropubic prostatectomy described by Walsh. The prostatectomy is performed in retrograde way, preserving the neurovascular bundles if feasible, controlling the vessels with titanium clips, and avoiding any kind of coagulation to decrease the risk of neurovascular bundle damage. The bladder neck may be preserved on surgeon criteria. Lymph node dissection is rarely performed due to the extremely low risk of metastatic involvement in this subset of patients. The operative time is about 2 to 3 hours and required hospital stay. The patient has a urinary catheter placed for 1 to 3 weeks to facilitate bladder emptying.

External beam radiation is carried out with the 3D conformal technique. Patients are treated in a supine position by immobilizing feet and legs. Data from a computed tomography (CT) scan performed with the patient in the treatment position were entered into a 3D treatment-planning system to outline prostate, bladder, and rectum on each slice. Seminal vesicles and regional lymphatics are also contoured if a high risk of involvement was suspected. Applied margins are used to calculate prostate planning target volume (PTV). Custom blocking with Cerrobend blocks or multileaf collimators are designed using beam's eye view, and additional margins were adjusted to provide a minimum dose of 95% to the prostate PTV. Treatment is delivered in 1.8 to 2.0 Gy daily fractions, 5 days per week. Off-line setup control is assessed weekly by comparing orthogonal portal images with the corresponding digitally reconstructed radiographs.

Brachytherapy is performed by pre-planned procedure. Under epidural anaesthesia, the patient is placed in the lithotomy position (forced lithotomy position larger prostate volumes) and, after probing the patient, the best prostate spatial location is searched, proceeding then to prepare the sterile field and bladder catheterization. A prostate volumetry with a three-dimensional reconstruction is performed and automatically transferred to the scheduler, which processes the images and outlines the prostate, urethra and rectum in each of the sections. In LDR prostate brachytherapy, the prostate gland corresponds to the PTV. The standard dose for 100% isodose is 145 Gy according to the TG-T43 for I-125 sources. Dosimetry calculation of the automatically prescribed dosage is then estimated, with a final manual optimization.