Overview of benign and malignant prostatic disease in Pakistani patients: a clinical and histopathological perspective

A Retroprospective Clinicopathological Study of Prostatic Lesions in Surgical Specimens

Background Prostatic diseases such as inflammation, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and tumors are prime causes of mortality and morbidity in males. The prevalence of these lesions increases with advancing age. The second most common cancer among males is prostate cancer, next to lung cancer worldwide.

Aim The present study was undertaken with the aim of studying the clinicopathological characteristics of prostate lesions in surgical specimens

Methods The present study was a retroprospective study. A total of 212 prostate surgical specimens were included. Information provided in the requisition form regarding age, type of prostatic biopsy and clinical presentation, and histopathological diagnosis was taken into consideration and recorded. All specimens were fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin and 5μ sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin stain (H&E stain). Relevant clinical data including age, the presenting complaints, and S.PSA values were recorded. Data were collected and analyzed using simple statistical methods with Microsoft Excel 2016.

Results Out of 212 cases analyzed, 161 (76%) were transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) TUPR specimens, 38 (18%) were trucut needle biopsies, and 13 (6%) were open prostatectomy specimens. The youngest patient was 48 years old while the oldest patient was 90 years old with a mean of 71.7  ± 8.2 years. Of the total 212 surgical specimens, 174 (82%) cases were of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BHP), and 38 (18%) were prostatic adenocarcinoma (PAC). Also, 94 (44.3%) of BPH and carcinoma of the prostate cases were most common in the seventh decade of life (61-70 years). Difficulty in micturition was the most common presentation 82 (39%). A maximum number of the BPH cases 81 (46.5%) had the prostate-specific antigen range of 0 to 4 ng/mL. The highest value of serum PSA was noted among the PAC patients in the range of > 80 ng/mL. Out of 38 cases of prostatic adenocarcinoma, moderately differentiated (Gleason scores 7) was the most common core and was seen in 42.1% of the PAC cases.

Conclusion The present study showed that the most frequently encountered prostatic lesion was BHP, commonly seen in the age group of 61 to 70 years. The PAC was common among males of more than 60 years. Histopathological examination is the best diagnostic tool for PAC

Role of Surgery in locally advanced prostate cancer

A significant proportion of patients present with locally advanced prostate cancer with inherent higher risk of local recurrence and systemic relapse after initial treatment. Recent literature favors combination of radiation therapy and extended hormonal therapy for this subset of patients. The effectiveness of Radical prostatectomy (RP) alone for locally advanced prostate cancer is controversial and is a focus of debate. However, it can decrease the tumor burden and allows the accurate and precise pathological staging with the need for subsequent treatment. Comparison of RP and other treatment modalities is difficult and incorrect because of inherent selection bias. RP as a part of multi-modality treatment (with neo-adjuvant hormonal therapy (HT) and with adjuvant or salvage radiation therapy (RT)/HT) can provide long term overall and cancer specific survival. Surgical treatment (such as transurethral resection (TUR), JJ stenting and percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN) placement etc.) can also provide symptomatic improvement and palliative care to improve quality of life of patients with advanced prostate cancer.

Histopathologic characterization of prostate diseases in Madinah, Saudi Arabia

AIMS

To delineate the histopathological pattern of prostate diseases and to highlight age variations in prostate specific antigen (PSA) values and histopathological features.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A retrospective review was made of all prostate biopsy reports seen between January 2006 and December 2013 at the King Fahad Hospital, Madinah, Saudi Arabia. Prostate lesions were tabulated and classified into benign and malignant groups. Histological scoring of adenocarcinomas was accomplished using the Gleason system. PSA values were correlated with Gleason scores.

RESULTS

Of 417 prostate lesions reviewed, 343 (82.3%) were benign and 74 (17.7%) were malignant, giving a benign to malignant ratio of 4.6:1. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (both with and without inflammation) was the commonest prostatic lesion and accounted for 80.3% of all cases and 97.6% of all benign cases. The age range was 20 to 97 years with a mean of 69.2 years and a peak age group at 70-79 years. Seventy one cases of adenocarcinoma accounted for 95.9% of the total of 74 malignant tumors. It showed an age range of 44 to 95 years, a mean age of 70.9 years and peak prevalence in the 80-89 year age group. Gleason score seven was the most frequent (39.4%) in occurrence. Most adenocarcinomas, 41 cases (57.7%), were moderately differentiated (Gleason score of 5-7). PSA values ranged widely between 16-1,865 ng/ml with a mean of 363.4 ng/ml. Elevated PSA (>100 ng/ml) levels were found in 53 (81.6%) patients. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between serum PSA level and Gleason score (p=0.0304).

CONCLUSIONS

Prostatic lesions constitute a significant source of morbidity among adult males in Madinah. Benign prostatic hyperplasia was the commonest benign prostatic lesion and adenocarcinoma was the commonest histological subtype of prostatic cancer.

Prostate biopsy in the elderly: histologic findings and treatment necessity

The aim of this study is to determine results of high prostate specific antigen (PSA) or abnormal digital rectal examination driven prostate biopsies performed in our Department in men aged 75 or more and to show the characteristics of pathology results. The hospital records of the patients who had high PSA or abnormal digital rectal examination driven prostate biopsy in two common university based research hospitals have been reviewed retrospectively. Patients aged 75 years or older at the date of biopsy whose records provided pathology results and full medical history were evaluated for the study. A total of 103 patients were evaluated with a mean age of 79.4±3.4 years. More than half of the patients (55.1%) were in their seventh decade and the rest were in the eighth decade. Median PSA value was 15.0 (range 2.1-4500) ng/ml. In most of the biopsies (67%), PSA levels were lower than 20 ng/ml. In almost half of the patients (48%), digital rectal examination was abnormal. In 68.9% of the patients, there were at least one or more associated co-morbid diseases. Gleason scores were 7 or higher in 73%, and 8 or higher in 37% of the patients with prostate cancer. Four of the 70 (6%) patients had bone metastases. Castrations were applied to most of the patients with prostate adenocarcinoma (%79). High percentage of high grade (Gleason 7 or more) prostate adenocarcinoma in the elderly refutes the perception of prostate cancer in this age group as clinically insignificant. Therefore, it is to be kept in mind that prostate cancer in the elderly an be clinically significant and prostate biopsies are to be performed when necessary.

How our practice of histopathology, especially tumour pathology has changed in the last two decades: reflections from a major referral center in Pakistan

Continued advances in the field of histo-pathology (and cyto-pathology) over the past two decades have resulted in dramatic changes in the manner in which these disciplines are now practiced. This is especially true in the setting of a large university hospital where the role of pathologists as clinicians (diagnosticians), undergraduate and postgraduate educators, and researchers has evolved considerably. The world around us has changed significantly during this period bringing about a considerable change in our lifestyles and the way we live. This is the world of the internet and the world-wide web, the world of Google and Wikipedia, of Youtube and Facebook where anyone can obtain any information one desires at the push of a button. The practice of histo (and cyto) pathology has also evolved in line with these changes. For those practicing this discipline in a poor, developing country these changes have been breathtaking. This is an attempt to document these changes as experienced by histo (and cyto) pathologists practicing in the biggest center for Histopathology in Pakistan, a developing country in South Asia with a large (180 million) and ever growing population. The Section of Histopathology, Department of Pathology and Microbiology at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city has since its inception in the mid-1980s transformed the way histopathology is practiced in Pakistan by incorporating modern methods and rescuing histopathology in Pakistan from the primitive and outdated groove in which it was stuck for decades. It set histopathology in Pakistan firmly on the path of modernity and change which are essential for better patient management and care through accurate and complete diagnosis and more recently prognostic and predictive information as well.