Elderly Patients' Outcomes After Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy: A Single Center Experience

Aim: To assess the oncological and functional outcomes of patients aged 70 years or older after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) and compare their results with younger men. Materials and Methods: Our study included 496 men who underwent RARP in our clinic between March 2015 and December 2021 with at least 1-year follow-up. Of these patients, 130 were aged 70 or older, and 366 were between 60 and 69. Preoperative characteristics, perioperative parameters, postoperative oncological, and functional results were studied. Results: The entire cohort (496 patients) aged 67 years on median (range 60-84), with a median prostate-specific antigen of 8.4 ng/mL. All the patients had a minimum 1-year of follow-up and the median follow-up was 32 months. According to the perioperative parameters, the two groups were similar except for hospital length of stay. On final pathology, the pathological stage, positive surgical margin rate and lymph node positivity were statistically not different between the two groups. The International Society of Urological Pathology grades were higher on final pathology for both groups, but this increase was greater in the >= 70 age group, and this was statistically significant (P = .013). In both groups, the median International Index for Erectile Function scores decreased after surgery significantly (P < .001), and at the 1st year follow-up, the decrease between the two groups was not different (0.973). Concerning continence outcomes, pad-free continence was significantly better in the 60-69 age group (94.5%) compared to the >= 70 age group (93.1%). Conclusions: The perioperative safety, oncological, and functional results of RARP in elderly men are comparable to younger patients.