Stage A prostatic carcinoma and repeat transurethral resection: a reappraisal 5 years later

The treatment of patients with stage A prostatic carcinoma demands precise pathological review. In an attempt to evaluate these patients thoroughly earlier reports from our institution recommended repeat transurethral biopsy. Recent studies have reaffirmed the benign nature of stage A1 disease. To examine the efficacy of this procedure a referee pathologist reviewed 8 years of experience with patients with stage A prostatic carcinoma from our institution. Clinical followup was more than 5 years in most cases. Of the 40 patients who underwent repeat transurethral biopsy the tumor in 38 remained stage A1 pathologically. While 1 patient died of the tumor the the remainder are without clinical disease. This low incidence of upstaging does not support the routine use of repeat resections.