Incidence of lymph node involvement in localized carcinoma of the prostate.

Bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy was performed in 100 patients as a staging procedure. Sixty-one patients received iodine 125 radioisotope implant and 39 patients received external radiation therapy. The overall incidence of lymph node metastases was 27 percent. The incidence of lymph node involvement was 14 percent with clinical stage A2 disease, 3 percent with stage B1, 44 percent with stage B2, and 40 percent with stage C disease. The grade of the tumor influenced the incidence of lymph node metastases. Only 6 percent of grade I tumors had lymph node metastases, whereas 26 percent of grade II tumors and 71 percent of grade III tumors showed lymph node metastases.