[Primary radiotherapy of prostatic carcinoma--the results at Essen with 173 patients]

173 patients suffering from prostate carcinomas of stages A to C received percutaneous irradiations. The five-year survival is 100% in stage A (n = 6), 79% in stage B (n = 41), and 68% in stage C (n = 126). 116 patients received only percutaneous irradiation after needle biopsy, 30 patients were irradiated subsequently to surgical intervention, and 27 were treated by hormones during primary therapy. An analysis was made about survival, recurrence rate, metastasis-free interval, and incidence of metastases in dependence on stage, grading, and different forms of primary treatment. The importance of stage and grading as prognostic factors is confirmed by the results of this study. Extended primary therapy (surgery and/or hormones) seems to bring no benefit as compared to radiotherapy alone. Transurethral resection of the prostate as a surgical/diagnostic intervention has an unfavorable influence on the prognosis.