Pretreatment transurethral resection of prostate cancer and disease-free survival.

Data from the American College of Surgeons' national survey on prostate cancer were analyzed to determine whether recurrence-free survival differs between those patients diagnosed by transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) and those diagnosed by needle biopsy. Only patients who received radiation therapy as treatment were included in this analysis. There were 461 patients diagnosed by TURP and 541 patients by needle biopsy. Disease free survival was calculated according to the state and tumor differentiation. Except in stage B1, none of the groups showed a statistically significant difference in recurrence-free survival between the two diagnostic procedures. The results of this analysis suggest that the disease-free survival of patients with radiation-treated prostate cancer diagnosed by TURP and needle biopsy are similar.