Impact of External Irradiation on Local Symptoms and Survival Free of Disease in Patients with Pelvic Lymph Node Metastasis from Adenocarcinoma of the Prostate

Abstract

Patients (64) with adenocarcinoma of the prostate and histologic evidence of pelvic nodal metastasis were followed for at least 5 yr after pelvic lymphadenectomy only. Patients (47) were treated with extended field irradiation, while 17 did not receive any irradiation. Only 17% of the patients receiving irradiation survived free of disease for 5 yr, while 40% died of prostatic cancer, compared to 29 and 35%, respectively, of those who did not receive irradiation. Symptomatic manifestations of local disease occurred within 5 yr in 65% of the patients not treated with irradiation, compared to 51% of those who received pelvic irradiation. External radiation therapy imparted no discernible benefit in terms of survival free of disease in these patients. The impact of irradiation in preventing local symptoms in these patients seems to be slight.