Adenocarcinoma of prostate in a twenty-seven-year-old man

A case of adenocarcinoma of the prostate in a twenty-seven-year-old man is reported. He responded initially to cobalt radiation to the prostate, but metastases developed subequently and he died thriteen months after the histologic diagnosis was made. Three of the 4 previously documented cases in men below age thirty who also presented with symptoms of obstruction of the lower urinary tract or bone pain died four, five, and twelve months later. The other patient was asymptomatic and alive thirty-one months after detection on a routine physical examination. Although based on a small number of cases, men below age thirty with prostatic adenocarcinoma have a poor prognosis, which appears to be related to the presence of symptoms at the time of diagnosis.