Volume and Grading in Stage A Prostatic Cancer

Abstract

Tumor volume is a decisive factor in the prognosis of patients with incidental prostatic cancer. Therapeutic management depends on the size of the tumor and ranges from no treatment at all to radical operation. The boundary between small and large incidental carcinomas, however, is drawn rather arbitrarily by different authors, although it is considered decisive for the choice of adequate therapy. Cantrell suggests that a tumor is large if more than 5% of the resected tissue contains cancer [3]. McNeal et al. consider the limit to be a cancer of 1 cm³ in volume [6]. In order to permit a clearly defined comparison, the present study aimed at the morphometric evaluation of relative and absolute tumor volumes in prostate cancer stages A1 and A2 according to the classification of Jewett [5].