Coexisting prostate cancer found at the time of holmium laser enucleation of the prostate for benign prostatic hyperplasia: predicting its presence and grade in analyzed tissue.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of prostate cancer identified on holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) specimens and evaluate variables associated with prostate cancer identification. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All patients undergoing HoLEP between 1998 and 2013 were identified. Patients with a known history of prostate cancer were excluded. Multivariable logistic regression assessed variables associated with identification of prostate cancer on HoLEP specimens and Gleason 7 or higher prostate cancer among the malignant cases. The Gleason grade was used as a proxy for disease severity. Each of the models was adjusted for age, preoperative prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and HoLEP specimen weight.
RESULTS: The cohort comprised 1272 patients, of whom 103 (8.1%) had prostate cancer identified. Prostate cancer cases had higher pre-HoLEP PSA (p=0.06) but lower HoLEP specimen weight (p=0.01). On multivariate logistic regression, age and preoperative PSA were associated with increased odds of prostate cancer being present (p<0.01 each), while increasing HoLEP specimen weight was associated with decreased odds of prostate cancer (p<0.001). Men older than 80 had 20% predicted probability of being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Seventy-eight percent of prostate cancer cases were Gleason 6 or less. The pre-HoLEP PSA was associated with increased adjusted odds of intermediate- or high-grade prostate cancer.
CONCLUSION: Prostate cancer identified by HoLEP is not uncommon, but is generally a low-risk disease. Older patients with smaller prostate glands have the highest odds of prostate cancer identification.