AbstractThe significance of prostatic carcinoma as a primary cause of death is presented; the concept that prostatic carcinoma is omnipresent in elderly males is challenged; the incidence of prostatic carcinoma is reviewed and discrepancies in published reports are analyzed. A comparison is made between the yield of positive diagnoses using open perineal biopsy and needle biopsy techniques. Contraindications in the use of needle biopsy for the diagnosis of operable carcinoma of the prostate are discussed.