Positive surgical margins following radical prostatectomy

Three Harvard physicians explain what this pathological finding means and what patients should consider next

For some men, what they hope will be the end of their prostate cancer story turns out to be just an early chapter: with the radical prostatectomy complete, they head home from the hospital believing they have been cured, only to learn that some cancer may have been left behind. Today, about 10% to 20% of patients who have their prostate surgically removed receive this news.