Management of clinically localized prostate cancer: pathologic processing to robotic prostatectomy

Prostate cancer management has undergone significant changes in recent years. The existing modalities are being refined, and a better understanding of pathologic parameters is helping in decision making. Newer sources of energy can be used to kill cancer cells, and modern robots are lending a helping hand in surgical removal of prostate cancer. The 13th International Prostate Cancer Update meeting provided a unique opportunity to review these recent developments. Reviewed here are highlights of presentations addressing recent developments in the surgical management of prostate cancer. The first discussion involved the processing of surgical specimens and interpretation of information obtained from histopathologic analysis. The second topic discussed here focused on an ongoing randomized trial comparing surgery with watchful waiting in the management of clinically localized prostate cancer. The last detailed presentation covered robotic prostatectomy and compared it with conventional open radical prostatectomy.