Latent (pTO) prostatic carcinoma--a retrospective study of frequency and natural history.

The change in therapeutic modalities for BPH and the influence of routine method of pathological examination was studied by comparing the pTO prostatic cancer frequency in the Urological Unit of the Second Department of Surgery, Helsinki University Central Hospital, in two five-year periods 10 years apart. Comparisons were made also with eight other Finnish hospitals. In the Urological Unit, the proportion of latent (pTO) carcinomas has increased, accounting for 11% of the BPH cases, and these latent carcinomas account for 24% of all prostatic cancer cases diagnosed in the clinic. The clinical significance of pTO cancer was studied retrospectively in a group of 34 patients primarily not treated for the incidentally found carcinoma focus. During the follow-up period of 58 months, 24% of the patients had clinical progression of the disease.