In a hospital-based analytical case-control study of prostate cancer conducted during 1996–1997 at the Urological clinics of FNKV Prague 10, 181 cases of prostate cancer and 277 controls of males with non cancerous urological disease were analysed. Mean age of newly diagnosed cases of prostate cancer was 70.8 years, mean age of death (83) from this cancer was 72.8 years. At the time of diagnosis 44,2% cases had already remote metastases in bones. Five-year cumulative survival rate of the cases was in this study 53.4%. Statistically significant differences were observed in examination of prostatic specific antigene (PSA) and alkaline phosphatase. Results of other biochemical examina- tions, digital rectal examination or sonography of the prostate did not show statistically significant differences between cases and controls. Implementation of both digital rectal examination and PSA examination into the scheme of preven- tive medical examination of males over 50 years of age represents the only possibility how to increase the proportion of the prostatic cancer diagnosed in early latent stage and thus therapeutically and prognostically more favourable.

        Key words: prostate cancer – hospital based case-control study – PSA examination.