Photo Credit: iStock.com/Mohammed Haneefa Nizamudeen

The following is a summary of “Safety and efficacy of palliative transurethral resection of the prostate for lower urinary tract obstruction in patients with metastatic prostate cancer: a meta-analysis,” published in the May 2025 issue of World Journal of Urology by Rosales et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to assess the safety, effectiveness, and clinical outcomes of palliative transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) in individuals with metastatic prostate cancer experiencing urinary obstruction.  

They searched PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for studies published before August 2024. Included studies reported pre- and post-treatment outcomes in patients undergoing palliative TURP for urinary obstruction. Data analysis utilized Comprehensive Meta-Analysis and Review Manager software. Study quality was evaluated with the Newcastle Ottawa Scale, and bias was estimated by the Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Interventions tool.  

The results showed that 8 studies involving 3,080 patients with advanced prostate cancer were analyzed. Palliative TURP reduced postvoid residual urine volume by a mean difference of 50.41 milliliters (95% CI: 39.49–61.34, P< 0.00001) and improved symptom scores by 14.13 points (95%CI: 10.03–18.23, P< 0.00001). No significant improvement occurred in urinary flow rate (mean difference: 4.31 milliliters per second, P= 0.23). Complications included repeat TURP (23.4%), incontinence (13.9%), catheterization (10.8%), and TURP syndrome (2.7%).  

Investigators concluded that palliative TURP effectively improved urinary symptoms and reduced retention in metastatic prostate cancer, though postoperative complication risks required careful oncology consideration. 

Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00345-025-05664-8