RATIONALE: Diagnostic procedures, such as positron emission tomography using carbon-11 acetate, may help find metastasis from prostate cancer and may help predict whether prostate cancer will come back after treatment.

PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying how well positron emission tomography using carbon-11 acetate works in finding metastasis and predicting recurrence in patients with prostate cancer who are at risk for recurrence after treatment.

OBJECTIVES:

• Determine the role of positron emission tomography using carbon-11 acetate (AC-PET) in changing initial management of patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer at medium or high risk for recurrence after initial curative therapy.
• Compare the value of AC-PET in predicting recurrence of prostate cancer with that of conventional approaches (e.g., pre-operative clinical staging, prostate-specific antigen, and Gleason score) in these patients.
• Compare the efficacy of AC-PET in detecting lymph node metastasis with that of biopsy in these patients.

OUTLINE: Patients undergo positron emission tomography using carbon-11 acetate.

Patients are followed periodically.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 285 patients will be accrued for this study.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Newly diagnosed prostate cancer
• Has completed conventional staging examinations, including biopsy with Gleason score, CT scan of the abdomen and pelvis, and whole-body bone scintigraphy AND conventional staging examinations negative
• Candidate for curative radical prostatectomy OR curative radiotherapy OR staging lymphadenectomy prior to surgery
• Deemed to be at medium or high risk for recurrence after initial curative treatment, as defined by 1 of the following criteria:
• Gleason score 7 AND prostate-specific antigen (PSA) 10-20 ng/mL
• Gleason score ≥ 8 AND PSA < 10 ng/mL
• Gleason score ≥ 8 AND PSA > 10 ng/mL
• Any Gleason score AND PSA > 20 ng/mL

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age

• 18 to 90

Performance status

• Not specified

Life expectancy

• Not specified

Hematopoietic

• Not specified

Hepatic

• Not specified

Renal

• Not specified

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: Biologic therapy

• No prior or concurrent biologic therapy

Chemotherapy

• No prior or concurrent chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy

• Initiation of hormonal therapy allowed

Radiotherapy

• No prior or concurrent radiotherapy

Surgery

• No prior or concurrent surgery for prostate cancer