Radical Prostatectomy in Treating Patients With Locally Advanced Prostate Cancer

You may be eligible if

• DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• Histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the prostate
• * Unilateral cT3a, cN0, M0
• Well or moderately differentiated tumor
• * Gleason score no greater than 7 (4 plus 3 or 3 plus 4)
• Total serum prostate-specific antigen no greater than 20 ng/mL (Hybritech equivalent)
• PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• Age:
• 70 and under
• Performance status:
• WHO 0-1
• Life expectancy:
• Not specified
• Hematopoietic:
• WBC greater than 3,000/mm\^3
• Platelet count greater than 100,000/mm\^3
• Hemoglobin greater than 9 g/dL
• Hepatic:
• Bilirubin no greater than 1.5 times normal
• ALT or AST less than 3 times normal
• PT and PTT normal
• Renal:
• Creatinine no greater than 1.5 mg/dL
• Cardiovascular:
• No preexisting uncontrolled cardiac disease, signs of cardiac failure, or rhythm disturbances requiring therapy
• No myocardial infarction within the past 6 months
• Pulmonary:
• No gross abnormalities on chest x-ray
• Other:
• No other disease that would preclude surgery
• No other prior malignancy except adequately treated basal cell skin cancer
• No other concurrent primary malignancy
• No psychological, familial, sociological, or geographical condition that would preclude compliance
• PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• Biologic therapy:
• Not specified
• Chemotherapy:
• Not specified
• Endocrine therapy:
• No prior hormonal therapy that would affect assessment of clinical T staging, margin positivity, or definitive pT staging
• Radiotherapy:
• No prior pelvic radiotherapy that would affect surgical resectability and perioperative morbidity
• Surgery:
• No prior surgery in the small pelvis (vascular surgery, mesh graft hernia repair, any surgery for benign prostatic hypertrophy, or transurethral resection of prostate) that would preclude prostatectomy