[Controversy over treatment options in clinical T3 prostate cancer]

Clinical stage T3 prostate cancer is a locally advanced disease at risk of having micrometastasis.Since clinical T staging is potentially inaccurate, PSA and Gleason score are also added at biopsy for risk stratification. The recurrence rate after radical prostatectomy alone or radiotherapy alone is generally high. Therefore, multimodal treatment is required. Recent multiple randomized trials have shown survival benefits of radiotherapy combined with long-term hormonal therapy. Dose escalation utilizing intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) or brachytherapy has the potential benefit of exerting local control. Since previous trials used conventional external radiotherapy, the optimal duration of hormonal therapy combined with dose escalated radiotherapy remains unknown. On the other hand, some patients can be cured by radical prostatectomy alone, and approximately half of patients with adverse features after surgery can be rescued by adjuvant radiotherapy. Primary hormonal therapy is used widely and has shown favorable results in patients with T3 prostate cancer, particularly in Japan. Based on the life expectancy and comorbidity of an individual patient, hormonal therapy can be chosen as a primary treatment. There are controversies over treatment options such as surgery, radiotherapy, and hormonal therapy in clinical T3 prostate cancer. The clinical results of these treatments are reviewed and several unresolved issues are addressed here.