Radical prostatectomy in a certified prostate cancer center. Medical treatment and outcome

Open radical prostatectomy (RPE) is a standardized surgical technique with good oncologic/functional results. Nevertheless, the postoperative quality of life can be affected significantly by urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction. Consequently, data of postoperative health-related quality of life come increasingly into public interest. This paper aims to evaluate the quality of care after radical RPE at a certified prostate cancer center. The oncological outcome, rate of complications, reintervention and transfusions as well as the rate of continence and potency of a total collective of nearly 400 patients was obtained in a standardized manner between January 2008 and June 2012 using the clinic's internal tumor documentation system and commonly used, validated questionnaires. Due to consistent methodology, partial results can finally be compared with data prior to establishment of the prostate cancer center. This study is the first German report demonstrating an improvement of treatment results in a certified prostate cancer center. The rate of complications, reintervention, transfusions, and R1 status were significantly lower than in the precenter era. The evaluation of potency is sobering compared to current published literature, whereas satisfactory results were obtained for continency. Evaluation of the data contributes to the quality of treatment and outcome of certified prostate cancer centers and allows reliable decision-making and honest patient education in the future.