Patients with T1 (stage A) prostatic cancer detected on transurethral resection and patients with T2 (stage B) cancer, identified by palpation and needle biopsy, had similar time to failure and survival following radical prostatectomy. Transurethral resection was not associated with a higher degree of failure. The volume of the tumor and the biology of the disease were decisive of the outcome. In low-grade low-volume prostatic adenocarcinoma the risk of progression is very low.