[Limits of surgical therapy of prostate cancer in the aged?]

The incidence of carcinoma of the prostate is increasing throughout the entire western world. The general rise in life expectancy is associated with the fact that many of these carcinomas of old age are now becoming clinically relevant. For curative treatment of prostate carcinoma, three procedures are available (radical prostatectomy, brachytherapy, radiotherapy). In terms of local freedom from tumor and long-term survival, radical prostatectomy is superior to the other modalities. Since improvements in our knowledge of the relevant anatomy have considerably reduced surgical morbidity and mortality, the procedure represents standard treatment in patients with a statistical life expectancy of at least 10 years and locally limited carcinoma of the prostate.