Quantitation of conventional histologic parameters and biologic factors in prostatic needle biopsy are useful to distinguish paramalignant from malignant disease.

The scope of this work was to determine the potential use of prostatic conventional histologic parameters and biologic factors in distinguishing between paramalignant and malignant prostatic disease, taking into account benign fragments of biopsies obtained from patients with prostatic cancer or from patients suspected to have cancer. Each prostate sample was semi-quantified for macronucleoli, mucin, crystalloid, collagen micronodules, and quantified for glands, stroma, AgNOR, and p53. The database covered 185 biopsy specimens from 136 patients: 56 samples from the same number of patients in whom all the biopsies were benign; 49 samples from patients whose biopsies showed malignant features, and 80 malignant samples. Discriminant analysis of the results showed statistical differences for four parameters: macronucleoli, mucin, gland volume, and AgNOR, allowing us to identify three patterns of prostate involvement: normal, paramalignant, and malignant. The discriminant function permitted an adequate classification of the three patterns in 84% of the cases. Normal areas showed glands with a mean volume of 38.93 microm3, inconspicuous nucleoli, low mucin production, and a mean AgNOR area of 1.26 microm2. Prostatic biopsies with prominent nucleoli and the presence of mucin (60%), gland volume of 22.31 microm3, and AgNOR area of 2.14 microm2 characterized the paramalignant condition. Malignant areas were characterized by mean glands with a volume of 8.11 microm3, prominent nucleoli, high mucin secretion (100%), and AgNOR area of 4.47 microm2. We concluded that modifications in prostate histoarquitecture and function, such as the presence of macronucleoli, volume of glands, abnormal secretion of acid mucin and AgNOR expression, represent important parameters that must be incorporated in the pathologist's evaluation of prostate biopsies to the purpose of indicating a subsequent biopsy, particulary in those patients with clinical suspicion of malignancy, and whose prostate biopsy specimen showed paramalignant areas.