Retrospective study of radiotherapy in early carcinoma of the prostate.

During the years 1978 to 1983 there was a 10-fold increase in the number of patients with T1-T4 NX M0 carcinoma of the prostate referred to the Christie Hospital for radical radiotherapy. A retrospective survey of 170 patients treated during this period showed an overall age-corrected 5-year survival rate of 49%. The survival of patients in whom referral for radiotherapy had been delayed was 37% compared with 56% for those given immediate treatment. Patients with poorly differentiated tumours had a significantly reduced survival compared with those with well differentiated tumours. The overall complication rate from radiotherapy was 4% and this low rate is attributed to the small volume used uniformly for treatment.