A risk grouping algorithm for predicting factors of persistently elevated prostate‐specific antigen in patients following robot‐assisted radical prostatectomy

Objective After radical prostatectomy, prostate‐specific antigen(PSA) value measuring ≥0.1 ng/mL is defined as persistent PSA(pPSA) and in many studies, it was found to be associated with aggressive disease and poor prognosis. Our aim in this study is to point out the pathological and clinical factors affecting pPSA among the patients who underwent robot‐assisted radical prostatectomy(RARP) in an experienced academic centre and to make a useful risk grouping algorithm that can predict pPSA value based on operative data. Methods We examined records of 1273 patients who underwent RARP retrospectively. Preoperative, operative and postoperative data were collected. Based on the PSA values (ng/mL) measured after 4‐to‐8 weeks of RARP, patients were divided into two groups as pPSA group (Group1)(n = 97) with PSA values ≥0.1 ng/mL and undetectable PSA group (Group2)(n = 778) with PSA values