International Journal of Radiation Oncology * Biology * Physics
Volume 53, Issue 2 , Pages 304-315 , 1 June 2002

Practical application of biochemical failure definitions: what to do and when to do it

  • Larry L Kestin, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests to: Larry L. Kestin, M.D., Department of Radiation Oncology, William Beaumont Hospital, 3601 West Thirteen Mile Road, Royal Oak, MI 48073 USA. Tel: (248) 551-7090; Fax: (248) 551-0089
    • Department of Radiation Oncology, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI, USA
    • ,
  • Frank A Vicini, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiation Oncology, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI, USA
    • ,
  • Alvaro A Martinez, M.D. (F.A.C.R.)

      Affiliations

    • Department of Radiation Oncology, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI, USA

Received 28 September 2001 ,Revised 31 December 2001 ,Accepted 7 January 2002.

References 

  1. Hanlon AL, Moore DF, Hanks GE. Modeling postradiation prostate specific antigen level kinetics (Predictors of rising postnadir slope suggest cure in men who remain biochemically free of prostate carcinoma). Cancer. 1998;83(1):130–134
  2. Hanlon AL, Pinover WH, Horwitz EM, et al.  Patterns and fate of PSA bouncing following 3D-CRT. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2001;50(4):845–849
  3. Zagars GK, Pollack A. The fall and rise of prostate-specific antigen. Kinetics of serum prostate-specific antigen levels after radiation therapy for prostate cancer. Cancer. 1993;72(3):832–842
  4. Zagars GK, Pollack A. Kinetics of serum prostate-specific antigen after external beam radiation for clinically localized prostate cancer. Radiother Oncol. 1997;44(3):213–221
  5. Connell PP, Ignacio L, McBride RB, et al.  Caution in interpreting biochemical control rates after treatment of prostate cancer (Length of follow-up influences results). Urology. 1999;54(5):875–879
  6. Kestin LL, Vicini FA, Ziaja EL, et al.  Defining biochemical cure for prostate carcinoma patients treated with external beam radiation therapy. Cancer. 1999;86(8):1557–1566
  7. Lu J. Statistical aspects of evaluating treatment and prognostic factors for clinically localized prostate cancer. Semin Urol Oncol. 2000;18(2):83–92
  8. Nixon RG, Wener MH, Smith KM, et al.  Biological variation of prostate specific antigen levels in serum (An evaluation of day-to-day physiological fluctuations in a well-defined cohort of 24 patients). J Urol. 1997;157(6):2183–2190
  9. Vicini FA, Kestin LL, Martinez AA. The importance of adequate follow-up in defining treatment success after external beam irradiation for prostate cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1999;45(3):553–561
  10. Willett CG, Zietman AL, Shipley WU, et al.  The effect of pelvic radiation therapy on serum levels of prostate specific antigen. J Urol. 1994;151(6):1579–1581
  11. Zietman AL, Zehr EM, Shipley WU. The long-term effect on PSA values of incidental prostatic irradiation in patients with pelvic malignancies other than prostate cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1999;43(4):715–718
  12. Consensus statement. Guidelines for PSA following radiation therapy. American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology Consensus Panel. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1997;37(5):1035–1041
  13. American Urological Association (AUA) . Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) best practice policy. Oncology (Huntingt). 2000;14(2):267–268 280
  14. Critz FA, Levinson AK, Williams WH, et al.  Prostate specific antigen nadir achieved by men apparently cured of prostate cancer by radiotherapy. J Urol. 1999;161(4):1199–1203
  15. Crook JM, Choan E, Perry GA, et al.  Serum prostate-specific antigen profile following radiotherapy for prostate cancer (Implications for patterns of failure and definition of cure). Urology. 1998;51(4):566–572
  16. D’Amico AV, Whittington R, Malkowicz SB, et al.  A method for determining a prostate-specific antigen cure after radiation therapy for clinically localized prostate cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1995;32(2):473–477
  17. Ennis RD, Malyszko BK, Heitjan DF, et al.  Changes in biochemical disease-free survival rates as a result of adoption of the consensus conference definition in patients with clinically localized prostate cancer treated with external-beam radiotherapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1998;41(3):511–517
  18. Hanlon AL, Hanks GE. Scrutiny of the ASTRO consensus definition of biochemical failure in irradiated prostate cancer patients demonstrates its usefulness and robustness. American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2000;46(3):559–566
  19. Hodgson DC, Catton CN, Warde P, et al.  The impact of irregularly rising prostate-specific antigen and “impending failure” on the apparent outcome of localized prostate cancer following radiotherapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2001;49(4):957–963
  20. Horwitz EM, Vicini FA, Ziaja EL, et al.  Assessing the variability of outcome for patients treated with localized prostate irradiation using different definitions of biochemical control. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1996;36(3):565–571
  21. Jani AB, Chen MH, Vaida F, et al.  PSA-based outcome analysis after radiation therapy for prostate cancer (A new definition of biochemical failure after intervention). Urology. 1999;54(4):700–705
  22. Kattan MW, Fearn PA, Leibel S, et al.  The definition of biochemical failure in patients treated with definitive radiotherapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2000;48(5):1469–1474
  23. Pickles T, Duncan GG, Kim-sing C, et al.  PSA relapse definitions—the Vancouver Rules show superior predictive power. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1999;43(3):699–700
  24. Taylor JM, Griffith KA, Sandler HM. Definitions of biochemical failure in prostate cancer following radiation therapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2001;50(5):1212–1219
  25. Vicini FA, Kestin LL, Martinez AA. The correlation of serial prostate specific antigen measurements with clinical outcome after external beam radiation therapy of patients for prostate carcinoma. Cancer. 2000;88(10):2305–2318
  26. Vollmer RT, Montana GS. The dynamics of prostate-specific antigen after definitive radiation therapy for prostate cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 1999;5(12):4119–4125
  27. Zietman AL, Tibbs MK, Dallow KC, et al.  Use of PSA nadir to predict subsequent biochemical outcome following external beam radiation therapy for T1–2 adenocarcinoma of the prostate. Radiother Oncol. 1996;40(2):159–162
  28. American Joint Committee on Cancer . Prostate. In:  Beahrs OH,  Henson DE,  Hutter RVP, et al. editor. AJCC cancer staging manual. 4th ed.. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven; 1993;p. 189–193
  29. Kaplan EL, Meier P. Nonparametric estimation from incomplete observations. J Am Stat Assoc. 1958;53:457–481
  30. Mantel N. Evaluation of survival data and two new rank order statistics arising in its consideration. Cancer Chemother Rep. 1966;50(3):163–170
  31. Cox DR. Regression models and life-tables. J R Stat Soc B. 1972;34:187–220
  32. Hanks GE, D’Amico A, Epstein BE, et al.  Prostatic-specific antigen doubling times in patients with prostate cancer (A potentially useful reflection of tumor doubling time). Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1993;27(1):125–127
  33. Patel A, Dorey F, Franklin J, et al.  Recurrence patterns after radical retropubic prostatectomy (Clinical usefulness of prostate specific antigen doubling times and log slope prostate specific antigen). J Urol. 1997;158(4):1441–1445
  34. Pollack A, Zagars GK, Kavadi VS. Prostate specific antigen doubling time and disease relapse after radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Cancer. 1994;74(2):670–678
  35. Pound CR, Partin AW, Eisenberger MA, et al.  Natural history of progression after PSA elevation following radical prostatectomy. JAMA. 1999;281(17):1591–1597
  36. Pruthi RS, Johnstone I, Tu IP, et al.  Prostate-specific antigen doubling times in patients who have failed radical prostatectomy (Correlation with histologic characteristics of the primary cancer). Urology. 1997;49(5):737–742
  37. Roberts SG, Blute ML, Bergstralh EJ, et al.  PSA doubling time as a predictor of clinical progression after biochemical failure following radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer. Mayo Clin Proc. 2001;76(6):576–581
  38. Sandler HM, Dunn RL, McLaughlin PW, et al.  Overall survival after prostate-specific-antigen-detected recurrence following conformal radiation therapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2000;48(3):629–633
  39. Sartor CI, Strawderman MH, Lin XH, et al.  Rate of PSA rise predicts metastatic versus local recurrence after definitive radiotherapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1997;38(5):941–947
  40. The Medical Research Council Prostate Cancer Working Party Investigators Group . Immediate versus deferred treatment for advanced prostatic cancer. Initial results of the Medical Research Council Trial. Br J Urol. 1997;79(2):235–246
  41. Kirk D. Immediate vs. deferred hormone treatment for prostate cancer (How safe is androgen deprivation? Medical Research Council Prostate Cancer Working Party Investigators Group). Br J Urol. 2000;86(Suppl.):220
  42. Byar DP. Proceedings. The Veterans Administration Cooperative Urological Research Group’s studies of cancer of the prostate. Cancer. 1973;32(5):1126–1130
  43. Byar DP. VACURG studies of conservative treatment. Scand J Urol Nephrol Suppl. 1980;55:99–102
  44. Aronson N, Seidenfeld J, Samson DJ, et al.  Relative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of methods of androgen suppression in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research publication no. 99-E012. Bethesda, MD: United States Public Health Service; 1999;
  45. Iversen P. Quality of life issues relating to endocrine treatment options. Eur Urol. 1999;36(Suppl.):220–226
  46. Schroder FH. Endocrine treatment of prostate cancer (Recent developments and the future. Part I: Maximal androgen blockage, early vs. delayed endocrine treatment and side-effects). BJU Int. 1999;83(2):161–170
  47. Walsh PC, DeWeese TL, Eisenberger MA. A structured debate (Immediate versus deferred androgen suppression in prostate cancer—evidence for deferred treatment). J Urol. 2001;166(2):508–515
  48. Bolla M, Gonzalez D, Warde P, et al.  Improved survival in patients with locally advanced prostate cancer treated with radiotherapy and goserelin. N Engl J Med. 1997;337(5):295–300
  49. Granfors T, Modig H, Damber JE, et al.  Combined orchiectomy and external radiotherapy versus radiotherapy alone for nonmetastatic prostate cancer with or without pelvic lymph node involvement (A prospective randomized study). J Urol. 1998;159(6):2030–2034
  50. Horwitz EM, Winter K, Hanks GE, et al.  Subset analysis of RTOG 85-31 and 86-10 indicates an advantage for long-term vs. short-term adjuvant hormones for patients with locally advanced nonmetastatic prostate cancer treated with radiation therapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2001;49(4):947–956
  51. Laverdiere J, Gomez JL, Cusan L, et al.  Beneficial effect of combination hormonal therapy administered prior and following external beam radiation therapy in localized prostate cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1997;37(2):247–252
  52. Lawton CA, Winter K, Murray K, et al.  Updated results of the phase III Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) trial 85-31 evaluating the potential benefit of androgen suppression following standard radiation therapy for unfavorable prognosis carcinoma of the prostate. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2001;49(4):937–946
  53. Messing EM, Manola J, Sarosdy M, et al.  Immediate hormonal therapy compared with observation after radical prostatectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy in men with node-positive prostate cancer. N Engl J Med. 1999;341(24):1781–1788
  54. Pilepich MV, Winter K, John MJ, et al.  Phase III Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) trial 86-10 of androgen deprivation adjuvant to definitive radiotherapy in locally advanced carcinoma of the prostate. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2001;50(5):1243–1252
  55. Zagars GK, Johnson DE, von Eschenbach AC, et al.  Adjuvant estrogen following radiation therapy for stage C adenocarcinoma of the prostate (Long-term results of a prospective randomized study). Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 1988;14(6):1085–1091
  56. Wirth M, Tyrrell C, Wallace M, et al.  Bicalutamide (Casodex) 150 mg as immediate therapy in patients with localized or locally advanced prostate cancer significantly reduces the risk of disease progression. Urology. 2001;58(2):146–151
  57. Baert LV, Goethuys HJ, de Ridder DJ, et al.  Neoadjuvant treatment before radical prostatectomy decreases the number of positive margins in cT2-T3 but has no impact on PSA progression or survival in cT2-T3. J Urol. 1998;159(Suppl.):61
  58. Klotz L, Gleave M, Goldenberg SL. Neoadjuvant hormone therapy (The Canadian trials). Mol Urol. 2000;4(3):233–237
  59. Soloway MS, Sharifi R, Wajsman Z, et al.  Radical prostatectomy alone versus radical prostatectomy preceded by androgen blockade in cT2b prostate cancer—24 month results. Br J Urol. 1997;80(Suppl. 2):259
  60. Witjes WP, Schulman CC, Debruyne FMJ, et al.  Neoadjuvant combined androgen deprivation therapy in locally confined prostatic carcinoma (3 to 4 years of follow-up of a European randomized study). J Urol. 1998;159(Suppl.):254
  61. Hanks GE, Lu J, Machtay M, et al.  RTOG protocol 92-02 (A phase III trial of the use of long term androgen suppression following neoadjuvant hormonal cytoreduction and radiotherapy in locally advanced carcinoma of the prostate). Proc Am Soc Clin Oncol. 2000;19:327a

PII: S0360-3016(02)02707-4

International Journal of Radiation Oncology * Biology * Physics
Volume 53, Issue 2 , Pages 304-315 , 1 June 2002

Article Tools

* Image Usage & Resolution