1871-2592/ $ – see front matter # 2007 European Association of Urology and European Board of Urology. doi:10.1016/j.eeus.2007.04.003The Evolution of Staging of Lymph Node Metastases in Clinically Localized Prostate Cancer

avai lab le at www.sciencedi rect.com journa l homepage: www.europeanurology.com dies. The available reports demonstrate that extended PLND improves staging and that ideally 30 lymph nodes should be removed. This represents a shift away from either no PLND or very limited PLND, in historic series. However, not all men need to be subjected to an extended PLND. At least somepatients can be effectively stagedwith limited PLND. Conclusions: This review illustrates the evolution of lymph node staging in prostate cancer, which changed from no staging through limited staging to extended staging. This review provides evidence-based cri-teria for identifying patients at risk of LNI, as well as for defining the extent of PLND, when indicated