The role of radical surgery in the treatment of prostatic cancer.

At present, prostatic cancer is the most common malignancy in men in many Western countries and its incidence is continuously increasing. Radical prostatectomy has been used for over 80 years, but there is still controversy about its role in the treatment of localized prostatic cancer. Because of insufficient knowledge of the natural history of prostatic cancer and a lack of accurate prognostic factors there are possibilities for both over- and undertreatment. Better staging methods are also required to discriminate between intra- and extracapsular tumours, which is essential for curative treatment. On the basis of the facts mentioned above and because of the poor sensitivity and specificity of transrectal palpation, ultrasound examination and prostate-specific antigen, which are used in screening, diagnosing and staging of prostatic cancer, screening is not yet recommended for the detection of early prostatic cancer.