Radical Prostatectomy for Carcinoma of the Prostate: 1951–1976. A Review of 329 Patients

Surgical therapy for early adenocarcinoma of the prostate has been an effective mode of cure since it was described by Young in 1905. The retropubic and perineal approaches of radical prostatectomy have been used at our hospitals for 25 years. Herein we examine 329 cases at the 2 hospitals. Although there were only 2 deaths (0.61 per cent) immediately attributable to the operation the surgical morbidity was significant. Patients of the attending staff had a 46 per cent complication rate while that of patients of the resident staff was 59 per cent. The 5 and 10-year survival rates of patients with stages A and B prostatic adenocarcinoma were 82 and 63 per cent, respectively, and the 5 and 10-year survival rates of patients who had stage C prostatic adenocarcinoma were 67 and 29 per cent, respectively. Our survival rates compare favorably to the national average survival for patients of all ages with localized or regional adenocarcinoma of the prostate. We believe that these data support the position of urologists who believe in radical surgical treatment of prostatic cancer.