title: Prostatic atrophy: evidence for a possible role of local ischemia in its pathogenesis.
abstract: Prostatic atrophy may be histologically and at ultrasound similar to adenocarcinoma causing diagnostic confusion, its frequency increases with age but the etiopathogenesis is unknown. Based on a systematic study in autopsies previously done by one of us, ischemia due to local intense arteriosclerosis seems to be a potential factor for its pathogenesis. Absent blood flow in areas of prostatic atrophy might be a further evidence for a possible role of ischemia. From a total of 298 patients biopsied and studied by gray-scale and color Doppler transrectal ultrasound in the period 1998 to 2001, 33 patients had suspicious lesions (37 hypoechoic nodules and 3 heterogeneous lesions) showing prostatic atrophy as the only diagnosis on all these biopsied lesions. Adenocarcinoma, high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia or other atypical lesions were absent in all patients. On color Doppler the suspicious areas showed absent flow in 24/40 (60%), present flow in 12/40 (30%), and increased flow in 4/40 (10%) of the lesions. Absent flow in the majority of the lesions studied may be a further evidence for a possible role of local ischemia in the etiopathogenesis of prostatic atrophy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomic Pathology, School of Medicine, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luciana R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Meirelles
authors.forename: Athanase
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Billis
authors.forename: Ana C S
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Cotta
authors.forename: Rui T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Nelson M G
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Caserta
authors.forename: Adilson
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Prando
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001284:Atrophy / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D007511:Ischemia / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011467:Prostate / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color