Endocrine therapy for bladder outlet obstruction from carcinoma of the prostate

The optimum treatment of bladder outlet obstruction from prostatic cancer is controversial. Although transurethral resection of the prostate may provide immediate relief of the obstruction, there are attendant surgical and anesthetic risks, as well as accumulating clinical evidence to suggest that transurethral resection of the prostate may cause tumor dissemination and diminish patient survival. Orchiectomy, which can be performed safely with local anesthesia, provides definitive endocrine therapy and has been used at our institution in preference to transurethral resection to relieve bladder outlet obstruction from carcinoma of the prostate. There were 35 patients between 51 and 96 years old in urinary retention from carcinoma of the prostate. Patients were treated with orchiectomy and suprapubic or urethral catheter drainage, and subsequently were given voiding trials. If a patient failed to void satisfactorily within 60 days transurethral resection of the prostate was performed. Over-all, 24 of 35 patients (68.6 per cent) were relieved of bladder outlet obstruction by orchiectomy alone. Neither tumor stage nor grade correlated significantly with the response to orchiectomy. We conclude that transurethral resection of the prostate may be held in reserve for patients who do not respond to endocrine therapy or those who do not wish sexual impotence.