Characteristics and survival of primary urothelial carcinoma of the prostate: A multi-center retrospective study of 18 cases.

OBJECTIVES

To explore the features, treatment, and outcomes of primary urothelial carcinoma of the prostate (PUCP) in a multicenter study.

METHODS

The clinical and imaging features, pathological findings, treatment, and outcomes of patients diagnosed with PUCP from January 2011 to April 2022 at three institutions were collected and analyzed. The Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test were used to assess survival rates of the overall group and survival differences between groups according to TNM stage.

RESULTS

The study cohort comprised 18 patients with PUCP of mean age 72.4±7.8 years. Dysuria and urinary frequency were the most common symptoms (77.8 %). Sixteen (88.9 %) patients had normal serum total PSA concentrations. Most patients showed abnormalities on urinalysis. MRI was the most accurate diagnostic imaging method (88.9 %). As to immunohistochemistry findings, GATA-3 (81.8 %) and P63 (84.6 %) were positive in most examined patients; however, no lesions were positive for PSA. Three (17.6 %) patients with T1N0M0 and T2N0M0 tumors underwent radical cystectomy. Eleven (64.7 %) patients which almost all had T4 tumors received systematic therapy, most of them receiving chemotherapy with gemcitabine and cisplatin, and radiotherapy. The median overall survival was 42 months, and the median progression-free survival 25 months, the latter being significantly longer in patients with T1-2 than in those with T3-4 disease (p=0.035).

CONCLUSION

PUCP, a rare but highly aggressive type of prostate cancer, should be considered in men with abnormalities on MRI and normal serum PSA concentrations. Positive GATA-3, P63, and negative PSA are typical immunohistochemistry features. Radical cystectomy and systematic therapies can be effective.