[The palliative effect of bilateral orchiectomy in metastatic cancer of the prostate]

The effect of bilateral orchidectomy in relieving pain in 70 patients with metastatic carcinoma of the prostate was investigated by review of the case reports of a patient material from a urological department. 74% of the patients stated that the intervention was effective. Relief of pain lasting for more than seven months and attributable solely to the orchidectomy occurred in 19%. It did not prove possible to differentiate by means of biochemical or clinical parameters between the patient groups with and without beneficial effects from the intervention. 30% died during the first postoperative year. The five year survival rate was calculated to be 19%.