Gp. Murphy et al., NATIONAL PATTERNS OF PROSTATE-CANCER TREATMENT BY RADICAL PROSTATECTOMY - RESULTS OF A SURVEY BY THE AMERICAN-COLLEGE-OF-SURGEONS COMMISSION-ON-CANCER, The Journal of urology, 152(5), 1994, pp. 1817-1819
To evaluate the patterns of use of radical prostatectomy for the treat
ment of prostate cancer in the United States, the American College of
Surgeons Commission on Cancer in association with the American Cancer
Society and American Urological Association surveyed 484 institutions
concerning 2,122 patients treated in 1990. The results revealed that 9
3% of the patients were younger than 75 years when treated. Pretreatme
nt prostate specific antigen level was greater than 4.0 ng./ml. in 85.
4% of the patients. Surgical-pathological evaluation showed that 57.5%
of the patients treated had American Joint Committee on Cancer pathol
ogical stages 0, I and II corresponding to American Urological Associa
tion stages A1 to B2. Positive pathological findings, for example micr
oscopic tumor extension or invasion, were associated with elevated pro
state specific antigen levels at followup. The mortality rate associat
ed with the operation was 0.7%. Impotence following treatment was obse
rved in 56.6% of the patients who were potent preoperatively and compl
ete incontinence was reported in 3.6% of the patients who were previou
sly continent. The data may provide benchmarks by which further trends
in prostate cancer treatment may be compared.