Pathologic results of radical prostatectomies in patients with simultaneous atypical small acinar proliferation and prostate cancer

Multiple cores of high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and any core of atypia on first biopsy are significant predictor for cancer detection at a repeat biopsy

Purpose

To investigate the differences in the cancer detection rate and pathological findings on a second prostate biopsy according to benign diagnosis, high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN), and atypical small acinar proliferation (ASAP) on first biopsy.

Materials and Methods

We retrospectively reviewed the records of 1,323 patients who underwent a second prostate biopsy between March 1995 and November 2012. We divided the patients into three groups according to the pathologic findings on the first biopsy (benign diagnosis, HGPIN, and ASAP). We compared the cancer detection rate and Gleason scores on second biopsy and the unfavorable disease rate after radical prostatectomy among the three groups.

Results

A total of 214 patients (16.2%) were diagnosed with prostate cancer on a second biopsy. The rate of cancer detection was 14.6% in the benign diagnosis group, 22.1% in the HGPIN group, and 32.1% in the ASAP group, respectively (p<0.001). When patients were divided into subgroups according to the number of positive cores, the rate of cancer detection was 16.7%, 30.5%, 31.0%, and 36.4% in patients with a single core of HGPIN, more than one core of HGPIN, a single core of ASAP, and more than one core of ASAP, respectively. There were no significant differences in Gleason scores on second biopsy (p=0.324) or in the unfavorable disease rate after radical prostatectomy among the three groups (benign diagnosis vs. HGPIN, p=0.857, and benign diagnosis vs. ASAP, p=0.957, respectively).

Conclusions

Patients with multiple cores of HGPIN or any core number of ASAP on a first biopsy had a significantly higher cancer detection rate on a second biopsy. Repeat biopsy should be considered and not be delayed in those patients.

Small cell carcinoma of the prostate

Pure small-cell carcinoma (SCC) of the prostate is a rare entity and one of the most aggressive malignancies of the prostate. Histologically, prostatic SCCs of the prostate are part of a spectrum of anaplastic tumours of the prostate and are similar to SCCs of the lungs. In most cases, SCC of the prostate is associated with conventional prostatic adenocarcinoma. Both components of these mixed tumours frequently share molecular alterations such as ERG gene rearrangements or AURKA and MYCN amplifications, suggesting a common clonal origin. The clinical behaviour of small-cell prostate carcinomas is characterized by extensive local disease, visceral disease, and low PSA levels despite large metastatic burden. Commonly, the emergence of the SCC occurs in patients with high-grade adenocarcinoma who are often treated with androgen deprivation treatment (ADT). However, SCCs do not usually benefit from ADT. A biopsy of accessible lesions is strongly recommended to identify those with SCC pathological features, as management is undoubtedly affected by this finding. Chemotherapy is the standard approach for treating patients with either localized or advanced prostatic SCC. Despite the emergence of more-aggressive treatment modalities, the prognosis of men with prostatic SCC remains dismal.

Differences in Postoperative Pathological Outcomes between Prostate Cancers Diagnosed at Initial and Repeat Biopsy

Purpose

We evaluated the differences in pathological outcomes between prostate cancers (PCas) diagnosed at initial and repeat biopsy.

Materials and Methods

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 287 patients who underwent radical retropubic prostatectomy from 2005 to 2010. We investigated preoperative factors, such as age, serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA), prostate volume (PV), digital rectal examination (DRE) results, biopsy schema, clinical stage, and number of prior biopsies, and postoperative pathological outcomes, including specimen volume, percent tumor volume, Gleason score (GS), tumor bilaterality, pathological stage, positive surgical margin (PSM), lymphovascular invasion (LVI), and perineural invasion (PNI). Patients were then classified into two groups by the number of prior biopsies (initial biopsy vs. repeat biopsy). We compared preoperative factors and postoperative pathological outcomes between the two groups.

Results

Of the 287 patients, 246 (85.7%) were diagnosed with cancer at the initial biopsy and 41 (14.3%) at the repeat biopsy. The repeat biopsy group was older (p=0.048), had a larger PV (p=0.009), had a significantly different biopsy schema (p<0.001), and had a lower (<10%) percentage tumor volume (p=0.016). In the multivariate analysis (after adjustment for biopsy schema, age, serum PSA, PV, and DRE), repeat biopsy was not an independent predictor of GS, tumor bilaterality, pathological stage, PSM, LVI, or PNI (p=0.212, 0.456, 0.459, 0.917, 0.991 and 0.827, respectively), but repeat biopsy could predict lower percentage tumor volume (p=0.037).

Conclusions

The pathological outcomes of PCas detected at repeat biopsy were not significantly different from those of PCas detected at initial biopsy except for a lower (<10%) percentage tumor volume.