Extended biopsy followup after full course radiation for resectable prostatic carcinoma.

Extended biopsy followup of 17 relatively young men with resectable prostatic cancer treated by external supervoltage radiotherapy is presented. Although 6 of the 8 surviving patients now have negative biopsies, the over-all survival rate and the over-all incidence of negative biopsies are not so encouraging, with only 35 per cent rendered free of tumor. Thus, the role of radiotherapy in resectable prostatic carcinoma should be critically scrutinized. More accurate staging is needed. Hopefully, more sophisticated studies of diagnostic and prognostic value will be available in the near future.