The Prognostic Impact of Seminal Vesicle Involvement Found at Prostatectomy and the Effects of Adjuvant Radiation

Source: Urotoday

Patients with seminal vesicle positive disease who received adjuvant radiation compared to observation realized an improvement in 10-year biochemical failure-free survival from 12% to 36% (p = 0.001), in 10-year overall survival from 51% to 71% (p = 0.08) and in metastasis-free survival from 47% to 66% (p = 0.09), respectively.

Although seminal vesicle involvement is a negative prognostic factor, long-term control is possible especially if patients are given adjuvant radiation therapy. This therapy appears to be effective in patients with seminal vesicle involvement.


This one study showed an advantage of giving patients radiation if they had cancer in the seminal vesicles at the time of radical prostatectomy. Many factors need to be addressed in determining if radiation is necessary after surgery.