Duration of study:~This study will enroll 20 patients, with a target enrollment period of 18 months. Patients who undergo prostate artery embolization (PAE) will have follow-up visits 2 weeks and 6 weeks after PAE. All patients in the study will have post RALRP follow-up visits at 2 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months after surgery. All patients will continue to be followed according to the usual standard of care following the completion of the study.~Study design:~The first 10 patients who meet all study eligibility criteria and provide consent for participation in the study will receive PAE prior to RALRP. Control patients will be matched 1:1 to PAE patients, according to risk score, and will receive RALRP without PAE. Control patients will be selected after all PAE patients have been enrolled, and need not meet all study eligibility criteria.~The following assessments and evaluations are required for participation in this study:~Physical exams, blood & urine tests, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), digital rectal exams (DREs), transrectal ultrasound (TRUS), Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC) questionnaires, International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) questionnaires, robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALRP), and pad weight tests. All patients enrolled in the PAE arm of the study will undergo embolization of the blood vessels that feed the prostate.
The purpose of this study is to determine whether pre-operative prostate artery embolization (PAE) reduces intra-operative blood loss and improves surgical outcomes among prostate cancer patients undergoing robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALRP).