Clinical implication of neuroendocrine differentiation in prostatic adenocarcinomas.
Specimens from 75 cases of prostatic adenocarcinoma of different M.D. Anderson degrees of malignancy were stained immunohistochemically for neuron-specific enolase (NSE), prostatic specific antigen (PSA) and prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP). None of these tumors presented on hematoxylineosin sections any features suggesting neuroendocrine differentiation; nevertheless, 18.7% of the tumors were at least focally NSE positive. Because of the synchronous antigenic expression of the NSE-positive cells to PSA and PAP, the authors suggest that prostatic exocrine and neuroendocrine cells derive from a common precursor stem cell. The possibility of a more aggressive biological behavior of these tumors in comparison to the conventional carcinomas is discussed. The probable clinical necessity for a combined therapeutic approach is also investigated.
Department of Urology, Athens University Medical School, Greece.
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C
Constantinides
K
K
Pavlaki
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D
Zizi
J
J
Gavriel
D
D
Mitropoulos
J
J
Garifalos
C
C
Dimopoulos
D000135:Acid Phosphatase / Q000032:analysis; D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009490:Neurosecretory Systems / Q000473:pathology*; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase / Q000032:analysis*; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000032:analysis; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology
D000135:Acid Phosphatase; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase