Laminectomy for spinal cord compression occurring in hormone refractory prostate cancer

In many cases of advanced prostate cancer, bone metastasis frequently occurs. Androgen deprivation therapy is very effective for these cases, but this therapy would result in failure, and symptomatic metastasis would develop. Approximately eighty percent of cases with bone metastasis showed epidural metastasis. When these lesions enlarge, spinal cord compression (SCC) occurs in five to ten percent of cases. Many urologist would choose an adequate modality for this problem, based on the prognosis and/or general status of each patient. In this article we overview laminectomy for SCC and present our experience.