The present limitations of diagnosis,patient selection and treatment mean that prostate cancer can be cured in only a proportion of men.Even in the best hands some patients will have incomplete tumour resection after radical prostatectomy,with positive margins on histological examination of the resected specimen,or the PSA does not fall to a negligible rate or climbs after stabilising.Whatever the scenario,the clinical problem is whether there is tumour still present in the prostate bed or gland,as the alternative is metastatic tumour in the lymph nodes or bones.If further local therapy is still a clinical option,then ultrasound assessment of the gland/bed with biopsy may be carried out in selected cases