Evaluation of Fast Molecular Detection of Lymph Node Metastases in Prostate Cancer Patients Using One-Step Nucleic Acid Amplification (OSNA)

Background: In clinical routine, only fractions of lymph nodes (LNs) are examined histopathologically, often resulting in missed (micro-)metastases and incorrect staging of prostate cancer (PCa). One-step nucleic acid amplification (OSNA) analyzes the entire LN by detecting cytokeratin 19 (CK19) mRNA as a surrogate for LN metastases requiring less effort than conventional biomolecular techniques. We aimed to evaluate performance of OSNA in detecting sentinel LN (SLN) metastases in PCa. Methods: SLNs (n = 534) of 64 intermediate- or high-risk PCa patients undergoing radical prostatectomy with extended and sentinel-guided lymphadenectomy were cut into slices and alternatingly assigned to OSNA and histopathology (hematoxylin-eosin staining, CK19, and CK AE1/AE3 immunohistochemistry). Sensitivity and specificity of OSNA and concordance and measure of agreement (Cohen’s kappa (κ)) between OSNA and histopathology were assessed. Results: Histopathology revealed metastases in 76 SLNs. Sensitivity and specificity of OSNA were 84.2% and 96.1%, respectively. Discordant results were recorded for 30 of 534 SLNs, revealing high concordance (94.4%). Twenty-four discordant cases were classified as micrometastases, indicating a possible allocation bias. In 18 cases, positive results were conferred only by OSNA resulting in seven LN-positive patients who were missed by histopathology. Overall, the level of agreement was high (κ = 0.78). Conclusions: OSNA provided a diagnosis that was as least as accurate as detailed histological examination and might improve LN staging in PCa.