The comparison of the survival outcome between robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy and radiation therapy for localized prostate cancer in men over 70 years: Korean Nationwide Observational Study.

This study aimed to investigate the survival after robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) in comparison with radiation therapy (RT) in elderly patients (≥ 70 years) with non-metastatic prostate cancer (PCa), given the contemporary Korean life span of 80 years. From the National Health Insurance Sharing Service data, men aged ≥ 70 years diagnosed with PCa from 2006 through 2016 undergoing RARP or RT without systemic chemotherapy or prolonged androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) were identified, then the mortality was compared after adjusting host factors. Data revealed 13,952 patients with RARP (N = 7535) or RT (N = 6417). Patients who underwent RARP were younger (73.81 ± 3.58 vs. 75.05 ± 3.83 years) and had a higher income. While the majority of the RARP group (94.1%) received no additional therapy, 57.4% of the RT group combined ADT. The adjusted mortality rate for total patients was lower in the RARP group (HR = 0.767, 95% CI 0.072-0.818, p < 0.0001). From the age of 75 years, more patients underwent RT (n = 3239) than RARP (n = 2478). When dividing patients by this age cut-off, the adjusted mortality for the younger patient (70-74 years) was lower in the RARP group than the RT group (HR = 0.580, p < 0.0001). In contrast, the adjusted mortality rate for men older than 75 years was similar (HR = 0.98, 95% CI 0.897-1.07, p = 0.649). This study demonstrates that even the patient over 75 years old who could afford to undergo robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy for non-metastatic PCa had a similar survival in comparison with RT, which had long been a standard of care for this particular age group.