Primary basal cell carcinoma of the prostate with concurrent adenocarcinoma

INTRODUCTION

Prostatic basal cell carcinoma is an extremely rare tumor, exhibiting various histopathological features and clinical spectrums of disease.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 69-year-old male presented to our department with 2 years of voiding difficulty and intermittent macroscopic hematuria. With a presumed diagnosis of benign prostatic hyperplasia, he underwent a transurethral resection of the prostate. Pathological examination revealed atypical basaloid cells forming solid nests. Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy was subsequently performed, confirming a diagnosis of basal cell carcinoma with coexisting acinar adenocarcinoma.

CONCLUSION

Although more cases of basal cell carcinoma are indolent than aggressive, there is no reliable method of differentiation between these presentations. Thus, we recommend radical surgery and 6-monthly disease surveillance until more is discovered about this very rare malignancy.

Basal cell carcinoma of the prostate: a case report

A 69-year-old man presented with gross hematuria and irritative urinary symptoms. He underwent transurethral resection of his prostate. The prostate chips revealed 70% poorly differentiated carcinoma with neuroendocrine features, initially read as small cell carcinoma, later as basal cell carcinoma. PSA at this time was 0.3. He received 4 cycles of etoposide and cisplatin. After which, rebiopsy of the prostate showed tumor consistent with poorly differentiated basal cell carcinoma. Given progression on chemotherapy, decision was made to proceed with radical prostatectomy. Metastatic workup was negative. Gross extraprostatic invasion was noted but lymph nodes were free of metastatic disease.