Classic radiological procedures failed to improve significantly the staging of localized prostate cancer. After prostate-specific antigen, some biopsy features have been successfully evaluated. The number of positive biopsy cores and the quantity of tissue core invaded by tumour appear to be closely related to prognosis and tumour volume. More recently, the detection of circulating prostate cells using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction has been developed and, with further investigation, could demonstrate prognostic value.