Words of Wisdom. Re: the learning curve for surgical margins after open radical prostatectomy: implications for the use of margin status as an oncologic endpoint.

摘要

The authors reviewed a large multicenter database investigating (1) the role of surgical margins (SMs) as a parameter for the surgical learning curve of open radical prostatectomy (RP) and (2) whether SMs are a reliable marker for oncologic outcome. All subjects were men who underwent surgery between 1987 to 2003 at one of four major academic institutions; surgery was performed by 1 of 72 surgeons, and the major oncologic end point was defined by the 5-yr biochemical disease-recurrence rate. The following results were reported: