Radical Prostatectomy May Help Some With Advanced Rectal Cancer

Patients with advanced rectal cancer that has spread to the prostate appear to do relatively well following a radical prostatectomy, according to Norwegian researchers.

The researchers, reporting in the European Journal of Surgical Oncology, compared this approach in six patients to a procedure called pelvic exenteration, in which surgeons remove much of the pelvic structure including the bladder and rectum.

The potential complications after pelvic exenteration are numerous.

The researchers said that for the six patients who had radical prostatectomies that included removal of the seminal vesicles (glands at the base of the bladder that collect fluid made by the prostate), "in spite of a relatively high urinary leak rate, the total complication rate seems to be lower than after pelvic exenteration."

They said none of the six had a recurrence of local rectal cancer. One patient died from the spread of cancer to other parts of his body 29 months later, but four of the other five reported they had good quality of life.

"En bloc radical prostatectomy seems an option in selected patients otherwise needing pelvic exenteration for locally advanced or recurrent rectal cancer," the researchers concluded.

Other sources: European Journal of Surgical Oncology