Time to biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy is an important predictor of clinical progression, distant metastases and cancer-specific death

Prostate-specific antigen is a sensitive marker for recurrent prostate cancer (PC) after radical prostatectomy (RPE), which can predict the
development of clinical progression and distant metastases well long before they occur. The objective of the investigation was to analyze the relationship of the time to biochemical recurrence (BCR) after RPE to the development of clinical progression, distant metastases, and PC death. The vast majority (80.5 %) of BCRs was common within the first 2 years after RPE and the recurrence was attended by the highest rate of clinical progression, metastases, and PC death during the first year. Correlation analysis shows that there is a statistically significant inverse correlation between the time to BCR following RPE with the development of clinical progression (rs = -0.43; p < 0.001), metastases (rs = -0.46; p < 0.001), and PC death (rs = -0.41; p < 0.001). Regardless of the time to recurrence, none of 27 patients with favorable histological characteristics (a total of post-RPE Gleason scores of ≤ 6, organ-confined disease, and a negative surgical margin) developed distant metastases; only one case had a local tumor recurrence.