Prostate cancer recurrence in radical surgery patients receiving autologous or homologous blood

Abstract

An evaluation of the effects of blood transfusion on recurrence and survival after radical surgery for prostate cancer was performed. Between 1982 and 1986, 315 consecutive patients underwent radical retropubic prostatectomy by a single surgeon; of 309 patients for whom transfusion data were available, 94 received homologous blood (Group I) and 215 received autologous blood or no blood (Group II). At the time of surgery, there were no differences between Group I and Group II with respect to age, preoperative cancer stage, preoperative histologic grade (Gleason grade), prostatic acid phosphatase score, and preoperative potency. At discharge, the groups were similar in the status of neurovascular bundles, capsular involvement, seminal vesicle involvement, lymph node involvement, postoperative Gleason grade, and postoperative potency. No adjuvant hormone therapy or radiation therapy was administered until tumor recurrence. The patients were followed annually by physical examinations and measurements of prostate-specific antigen. Cancer recurrence was detected in 23 (24.5%) Group I patients and 49 (22.7%) Group II patients. These proportions were not significantly different in univariate or multivariate analysis, and the time to recurrence curves overlapped. It is concluded that homologous blood transfusions are not associated with more rapid tumor recurrence or death after radical surgery for prostate cancer than is seen with autologous transfusions. These results differ from previous reports, which suggested that transfusions may cause recurrence of cancer in patients with colorectal or prostate cancer because of the immunosuppressive effects of blood transfusions.