Pathologic Differentiation and Prognosis of Prostatic Carcinoma

Abstract

The morphologic appearance of prostatic carcinoma has been well described^8,53,54and is generally considered noncontroversial; however, the histologic criteria for classification of this cancer according to degree of malignancy are not well understood and certainly not generally accepted.^55,56The fact that cellular and structural variations from the benign to the most anaplastic forms of malignancy may be seen in a single microscopic section of a prostatic specimen accounts in part for this disagreement. The pathologist must decide whether the most representative cellular pattern or the area of greatest cellular anaplasia should be taken as indicative of the growth potential of the tumor.⁵⁷ Since it is generally agreed that adenofibromatous hyperplasia is not neoplastic, almost all prostate tumors are malignant. In common usage, "prostatic carcinoma" is synonymous with "adenocarcinoma," since the latter accounts for about 97% of these tumors. The remaining tumors are the rare sarcomas and squamous