STAGE AL PROSTATE-CANCER - FOLLOW-UP WITH DIGITAL RECTAL EXPLORATION,PROSTATE MARKERS, FINE-NEEDLE ASPIRATION, ULTRASONOGRAPHICALLY GUIDEDNEEDLE-BIOPSY AND BIOPSIES OF THE RESIDUAL PROSTATE WITH RESECTOSCOPE

From January 1985 to December 1990, we performed 921 TURP and 23 retro pubic adenomectomies. In 70 patients (7.4%) histological examination r evealed an incidental carcinoma of the prostate (stage A), 51 of which (72.8%) were A1 and 19 (27.2%) stage A2. In our classification A1 cov ers cases with <3 G1 focal lesions [Boxer, 1977]. Thirteen of the A2 c ases underwent radical prostatectomy: 1 pT1G1-2, 9 pT2G1-2, 3 pT3G2 (T NM 1978); the remaining 6 were given palliative treatment. The 51 stag e A1 patients were recalled for follow-up evaluation, only 20 came for checking. They were reassessed by means of DRE, markers, prostate cyt ologic aspiration, echo-guided transperineal needle biopsy and resecti on of the prostatic cavity. Our experience seems to suggest that, if w e define A1 as <3 G1 chips or less, this stage is to be considered an incidental illness that seems not to require further treatment, but on ly a policy of surveillance with yearly markers, DRE and echo-guided n eedle biopsy.