Neodymium-YAG laser in the treatment of localized prostate cancer.

The combination of transurethral resection and subsequent Neodymium-YAG laser irradiation has been practiced for radical treatment of localized prostate cancer since 1981. One hundred and eighteen patients have been treated and the observation time ranges 6-98 months. The treatment is performed endoscopically in two separate steps. The procedure is simple and complications are few. One hundred and four patients are evaluated as disease-free survivors. The overall actuarial disease-free survival rate is 88% in the 4-8 year period. The results compare satisfactorily with results obtained by other methods. Recently published results from other clinics confirm the laser to be promising in the treatment of localized prostate cancer.