125I implantation for carcinoma of prostate. Further follow-up of first 100 cases.

Analysis of the first 100 patients at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center with Stage B or C prostatic cancer treated by pelvic lymph node dissection and Iodine-125 implantation and endocrine therapy when specifically indicated revealed five-year survival rates of 87 and 77 per cent, respectively. Tumor stage, tumor grade, and lymph node metastasis each correlated with survival, but the latter was the most significant factor. Although routine follow-up biopsies were not performed, local tumor control as judged by serial digital rectal examination defined a prognostically favored group of patients. In the absence of controls, however, whether the latter response indicates a salutary effect of the treatment which produces an improved survival or merely identifies a group of patients who were predetermined to have a more favorable survival is undetermined.