Bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy and radical retropubic prostatectomy for adenocarcinoma of prostate with regional lymph node involvement.

Ninety-nine patients with adenocarcinoma of the prostate and regional lymph node involvement underwent pelvic lymphadenectomy. Therapeutic results were analyzed in 70 patients who subsequently underwent radical retropubic prostatectomy with or without concomitant therapy (usually hormonal) and in 29 patients who received radiation or hormonal treatment only but without prostatectomy. Follow-up ranged from one to fourteen and one-half years. The over-all projected survival rates (Kaplan-Meier) at five and ten years (88 per cent and 71 per cent, respectively) in the prostatectomy series were comparable to those of an age-matched control group. Concomitant bilateral orchiectomy provided a high projected (76 per cent at ten years) nonprogression rate. Over-all survival rates in the nonprostatectomy series were poor. Only the number of nodes involved was associated with survival and time to disease progression. Patient age, tumor bulk, seminal vesicle involvement, and tumor grade (Mayo and Gleason scores) had no definite relationship to survival. Pelvic lymphadenectomy and radical retropubic prostatectomy for prostatic adenocarcinoma may be therapeutic in some patients with limited (less than or equal to two positive nodes) nodal disease.