Definitive therapy for prostate carcinoma: Mayo Clinic results at 15 years after treatment.

Data on long-term follow-up for definitive therapy of prostate cancer are limited, especially for radiation therapy. Either surgery or radiation was used in 322 patients for treatment with curative intent, and follow-up was for a minimum of 15 years. Overall survival was nearly identical to that in age-matched cohort. 5-, 10-, and 15-year recurrence-free survival rates were 77%, 63% and 53%, respectively. Grade and stage were significant prognostic factors for both recurrence and survival. More than 60% of the initial failures were local, and more than 25% of the failures occurred after 10 years. Radiation therapy was used in 137 patients with clinically staged disease. Radical retropubic prostatectomy and perineal prostatectomy were performed in 133 and 44 patients, respectively. In this group, pathological staging was used. Survival rates for surgically treated patients were better than those in the cohort population. In conclusion, overall long-term follow-up demonstrates that definitive treatment does not have an adverse effect on survival from prostate cancer. Local recurrence is a frequent cause of failure. Caution must be used in interpreting any prostate study with less than 10 years of follow-up, because 25% to 50% of the failures occur after that time.