Fifty-seven patients with locally advanced, clinical stage TC, adenocarcinoma of the prostate underwent treatment consisting of surgery, external beam radiation therapy and, in selected patients, early hormonal ablation and/or systemic chemotherapy. Surgical morbidity from radical retropubic prostatectomy and limited pelvic lymph node dissection was acceptable with an early complication rate of 11%. Followup ranged from 3.5 to 19.9 years (median 5.4 years). Actuarial 5 and 7.5 years survival rates for all patients was 91.2% and 77.6%, respectively. Of the 57 study patients 19 (33%) were alive with no evidence of disease, including a prostate specific antigen (PSA) less than 0.4 ng/ml at all times during follow-up. The estimated 5 year probability of clinical recurrence was 18.6% and the 5 year probability of clinical and PSA recurrence (> 0.4 ng/ml) was 54.5%. Local recurrence occurred in only 3 patients. This included 2 (4%) patients who received adjuvant radiotherapy. Our results suggest that patients with locally advanced prostate cancer can be successfully treated with low morbidity using a combination of radical prostatectomy and planned adjuvant radiotherapy.