The place of radical prostatectomy in the treatment of early localized prostate cancer

Today a number of treatment options exist for men diagnosed with early localized prostate carcinoma, of which the most important are radical prostatectomy, external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy. New advances in brachytherapy using the implantation of iodine-125 and palladium-103 seeds have significantly altered its place in the treatment of localized disease and provided an alternative to external beam radiotherapy and potentially radical prostatectomy. Drawing on recently published data and our own experiences of retropubic radical prostatectomy in 100 consecutive men with localized disease, we review the place of radical prostatectomy in the treatment of early prostate cancer today. For many urologists radical prostatectomy remains the treatment of choice for men aged 70 years or less, with localized disease, a life expectancy of over 10 years and no co-morbidity. However, this has to be balanced against recent advances in brachytherapy, which now provides a minimally invasive alternative therapy for some patients with organ-confined disease and for those in whom surgery is contraindicated. Copyright (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.