Prognostic significance of PI-RADS 5 lesions in patients treated by radical prostatectomy

purpose: to analyse the pathological features and survival of patients with a PI-RADS 5 lesion on pre-biopsy MRI. methods: we extracted from a european multicentre prospectively gathered database the data of patients with a PI-RADS 5 lesion on pre-biopsy MRI, diagnosed using both systematic and targeted biopsies and subsequently treated by radical prostatectomy. the kaplan–meier model was used to assess the biochemical-free survival of the whole cohort and univariable and multivariable cox models were set up to study factors associated with survival. results: between 2013 and 2019, 539 consecutive patients with a PI-RADS 5 lesion on pre-biopsy MRI were treated by radical prostatectomy and included in the analysis. follow-up data were available for 448 patients. radical prostatectomy and lymph node dissection specimens showed non-organ confined disease in 297/539 (55%), (including 2 patients with a locally staged pT2 lesion and lymph node involvement (LNI)). with a median follow-up of 25 months (12–39), the median biochemical recurrence-free survival was 54% at 2 years (95% CI 45–61) and 28% at 5 years (95% CI 18–39). among the factors studied, MRI T stage [T3a vs T2 HR 3.57 (95%CI 1.78–7.16); T3b vs T2 HR 6.17 (95% CI 2.99–12.72)] and PSA density (HR 4.47 95% CI 1.55–12.89) were significantly associated with a higher risk of biochemical recurrence in multivariable analysis. conclusion: patients with a PI-RADS 5 lesion on pre-biopsy MRI have a high risk of early biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy. MRI T stage and PSA density can be used to improve patient selection and counselling.