Lymphograms in prostatic carcinoma: false-positive and false-negative assessments in radiology

Forty patients with prostatic carcinoma underwent lymphography and pelvic lymphadenectomy. Node-by-node comparisons between radiology and histology findings yielded high false-negative rates for the lymphogram as a staging tool. False-positive and false-negative rates depend on the viewpoint taken: we argue that these rates should be expressed in terms of the disease, not the in vivo test. Lymphography has serious defects as a staging manoeuvre, but pelvic lymphadenectomy carries greater morbidity and mortality in its train.