Impact of the time interval between biopsy and radical prostatectomy on functional outcomes

The aim of our study was to investigate the impact of the time interval between prostate biopsy and radical prostatectomy (RP) on postoperative urinary continence (UC)/erectile function (EF). From a clinical point of view, an interval of several weeks seems to facilitate surgical preparation.

We retrospectively analyzed patients who underwent RP for localized prostate cancer (PCa) in a tertiary care center between 2011 and 2020. We evaluated the influence of the following variables on UC and EF 1 year after RP: time from biopsy to RP, age, BMI, pathological T-stage, EF and intraoperative nerve sparing (unilateral vs. bilateral). For this purpose, we performed linear regression analyses as well as manual grouping and cluster analyses to identify possible temporal cutoff ranges. The EPIC-26 and the IIEF questionnaires were used for the assessment of UC and EF.

We identified 6202 consecutive patients who underwent RP. Neither manual grouping nor cluster analyses showed a significant difference in continence or potency after RP. According to linear regression models, only age was an independent predictor of incontinence (95%-CI 0.006–0.01), and EF before RP (95%-CI 0.22–0.26), age (95%-CI – 0.68 to – 0.5), BMI (95%-CI – 0.66 to – 0.29) and bilateral NS (95%-CI 5.5–2.1) had significant impacts on postoperative EF (all p < 0.001).

In the selected patient population, the time interval between prostate biopsy and RP did not seem to have an effect on postoperative functional outcomes (UC and EF).