UCSF

Background

Recent reports with a small number of patients showed an association of red blood cell distribution width (RDW) with prostate cancer (PCa) progression.

Objective

To investigate whether preoperative RDW can serve as a prognostic marker in patients with PCa undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP) in a large, equal access, and diverse patient cohort.

Design setting and participants

Data were retrospectively collected on 4756 men treated with RP at eight Veteran Affairs medical centers within the Shared Equal Access Regional Cancer Hospital (SEARCH) database from 1999 through 2017.

Outcome measurements and statistical analysis

Biochemical recurrence (BCR) was the primary outcome, while metastasis, all-cause mortality (ACM), and prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM) were secondary outcomes.

Results and limitations

The mean (standard deviation) age was 62 yr (6.1), and 1589 (33%) men were black. The median (interquartile range) follow-up was 82 mo (46-127). Preoperative RDW either as a continuous variable or when stratified by quartiles was not associated with BCR. Likewise, preoperative RDW was not associated with metastases or PCSM. However, higher RDW was significantly associated with higher ACM, both as a continuous variable (p < 0.001) and when stratified by quartiles in univariable and multivariable models (p < 0.001). RDW was found to be correlated with D'Amico risk classification of PCa. Study limitations include its retrospective nature and lack of data regarding advanced PCa.

Conclusions

Preoperative RDW was not associated with PCa outcomes in men treated with RP but was associated with ACM. While RDW may be a biomarker of overall health, it is not a biomarker for PCa outcomes. These results emphasize the importance of diverse, larger sized studies in genitourinary cancer research.

Patient summary

Prostate cancer includes a wide spectrum of diseases with different genetic, pathological, and oncological behaviors. Red blood cell distribution width is helpful in predicting the overall survival for a localized prostate cancer patient, and hence, it can help inform personalized treatment decisions and operative care.