Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Oct;5(4):259-63.
doi: 10.4103/0974-7796.120301.

Pre-prostatic tissue removed in robotic assisted lymph node dissection for prostate cancer contains lymph nodes

J Blarer  1 , C Padevit, K Horton, D Pfofe, H John, M Horstmann
Affiliations

Pre-prostatic tissue removed in robotic assisted lymph node dissection for prostate cancer contains lymph nodes

J Blarer et al. Urol Ann. 2013 Oct.

Abstract

Objective: The on-going discussion about extent and best template for pelvic lymph dissection (PLND) motivated us to analyse pre-prostatic tissue (PPT) for lymph nodes and metastases.

Materials and methods: From December 2010 to August 2011 PPT was sent for histopathological evaluation during 80 robotic assisted radical prostatectomies (RARP) and one extended staging lymph node dissection. All patients had either a limited (lPLND, n = 44) or an extended lymph node dissection (ePLND, n = 36). Clinical data were retrospectively analyzed and compared to histopathological findings.

Results: Lymph nodes were found in PPT in 10/80 (12.5%) patients after RARP and in the one patient after staging ePLND. Mean number of lymph nodes detected in PPT of them was 1.2 (range 1-3). Clinically no differences were found between patients with or without lymph nodes in PPT. In the standard template of either ePLND or lPLND the average number of lymph nodes was 13 (range 2-56). Herein metastases were found in 10 (12.5%) patients after RARP and in the patient after staging ePLND. A metastasis in PPT was only found after staging ePLND.

Conclusions: Pre-prostatic tissue might contain lymph nodes that potentially harbour metastases. In the intention to perform the most accurate staging this tissue should be considered for histopathological evaluation.

Keywords: Lymph nodes; prostate cancer; robotic assisted radical prostatectomy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Pre-prostatic tissue prior to robotic removal during robotic assisted radical prostatectomy
Figure 2
Figure 2
Robotic removal of pre-prostatic tissue during robotic assisted radical prostatectomy
Figure 3
Figure 3
Lymph node infiltrated by metastatic prostate cancer
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Briganti A, Blute ML, Eastham JH, Graefen M, Heidenreich A, Karnes JR, et al. Pelvic lymph node dissection in prostate cancer. European urology. 2009;55:1251–65. - PubMed
    1. Heidenreich A, Bellmunt J, Bolla M, Joniau S, Mason M, Matveev V, et al. EAU guidelines on prostate cancer. Part 1: Screening, diagnosis, and treatment of clinically localised disease. European urology. 2011;59:61–71. - PubMed
    1. Schilling D, Boekeler U, Gakis G, Schwentner C, Corvin S, Sotlar K, et al. Modified concept for radioisotope-guided sentinel lymph node dissection in prostate cancer. World journal of urology. 2010;28:715–20. - PubMed
    1. Finley DS, Deane L, Rodriguez E, Vallone J, Deshmukh S, Skarecky D, et al. Anatomic excision of anterior prostatic fat at radical prostatectomy: Implications for pathologic upstaging. Urology. 2007;70:1000–3. - PubMed
    1. Kothari PS, Scardino PT, Ohori M, Kattan MW, Wheeler TM. Incidence, location, and significance of peri-prostatic and periseminal vesicle lymph nodes in prostate cancer. The American journal of surgical pathology. 2001;25:1429–32. - PubMed