We studied 721 men with clinically confined disease who underwent radical prostatectomy. No patient received preoperative or postoperative radiotherapy or hormone therapy until progression occurred. For those men without progression, the mean follow-up was 6.5 years with a median of 6 years (range 1 to 12 years). Because patients with lymph node metastases or seminal vesicle invasion had such a high risk of progression, enhanced prognostication was not needed in men with these findings. Thus we focused this analysis on the 617 men without lymph node metastases or seminal vesicle invasion. In the multivariate analysis, Gleason score (P < 0.0001), surgical margins (P = 0.004), and capsular penetration (P = 0.007) were all independent predictors of progression. Tumors with a Gleason score of 2 through 4 were almost invariably cured, with a 10-year progression-free risk of 96%. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the 10-year actuarial progression-free risk for men with a Gleason score of 8 through 9 was 35%. Men with Gleason score 2 through 4 or 8 through 9 tumors could not be stratified into different risks of progression based on the presence or extent of capsular penetration or margin status. For the men with Gleason score 5 through 7 tumors (88.2% of cases), predicting their risk of progression was enhanced by knowledge of their tumor's capsular penetration and margin status. Tumors with a Gleason score of 5 through 6 and 7 were each stratified into three groups with different risks of progression. Using the actuarial curves within this study, physicians will be able to more accurately determine a patient's risk of progression following radical prostatectomy based on a combination of the radical prostatectomy Gleason score, extent of capsular penetration, and status of surgical margins of resection.