[Clinical studies of stage D2 prostatic cancer]

Between 1981 to 1991, 126 patients were diagnosed with prostatic cancer from histological reports. Stage D2 prostatic cancer was confirmed in 38 of these cases at the time of the initial diagnosis (group alpha). Of 38 patients in group alpha, 13 had recurrence of disease after a good response to the initial treatment, 19 had no recurrence after the treatment and the other 6 patients showed no response to the initial treatment for prostatic cancer. Seven patients showed progression of the disease to stage D2 during the observation period (group beta). These forty-five patients with stage D2 prostatic cancer were analyzed. Poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma was the most frequently observed histological grade, followed by moderately differentiated. The grade of the extent of the disease (EOD) on bone scan was classified as EOD I in 26, EOD II in 13 and EOD III in 4, with no significant differences in the survival rate found among these groups. The sensitivity rate of prostate specific antigen was higher than that of other serum tumor markers. Twenty-three patients died during the observation period. 18 of the 23 died of prostatic cancer.