Correlative histochemical and histological studies on thirty radical prostatectomy specimens

Whole transverse cryostat sections were made on 30 radical prostatectomy specimens which contained primary prostatic cancer. One was a clinical stage A lesion. The others were diagnosed clinically as stage B but 6 were pathologically stage C. All prostatic cancers originated in the outer prostate close to the true capsule. Capsular and perineural space invasion was seen in all 30. Prostatic cancer produces acid phosphatase but usually in reduced amounts proportional to the degree of the dedifferentiation. This allowed easy identification of prostatic cancer cells in the capsule and periprostatic tissues and distinguished primary from secondary prostatic cancers. The vast majority of prostatic cancers, including well-differentiated lesions, demonstrated no amino-peptidase activity; this feature may become an adjunct in their microscopic diagnosis. The potential of histochemical techniques in demonstrating biochemical lesions in cancer cells even in the absence of morphological changes is discussed.