PATHOLOGY

Diffuse adenosis of the peripheral zone in prostate needle biopsy and prostatectomy specimens
Lotan TL, Epstein JI
Departments of Pathology and Urology Oncology, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA
Am J Surg Pathol. 2008; 30: Epub ahead of print

• We have observed a group of typically younger patients with multiple foci of small, nonlobular, crowded, but relatively bland acini on needle biopsy and in prostatectomy specimens. It is unclear whether this architectural pattern, which we have termed diffuse adenosis of the peripheral zone (DAPZ), is simply a crowded glandular variant of normal prostate morphology or whether it represents a risk factor for the development of prostatic carcinoma. We studied 60 cases of DAPZ on needle biopsy in our consult practice from 2001 to 2007. Cases, on average, showed 72% of cores involved by DAPZ. Average patient age was 49 years (range: 34 to 73) and the average prostate specific antigen (PSA) level at the time of biopsy was 5.2 ng/mL (n = 42). Forty-three (72%) men had available clinical follow-up with 35 (81%) patients undergoing rebiopsy and 8 (19%) followed with serial PSA measurements. Patients who were rebiopsied after DAPZ diagnosis had higher PSA levels than those who were followed by PSA levels alone (6.2 vs. 3.1 ng/mL, P = 0.04). Of the rebiopsied cases, 20 (57%) were subsequently diagnosed with carcinoma, with an average of 15 months elapsed between initial biopsy and carcinoma diagnosis. Although the majority of tissue sampled in a typical DAPZ case had no cytologic atypia, in 65% of cases there were admixed rare foci of atypical glands with prominent nucleoli comprising < 1% of submitted tissue. Patients with a subsequent diagnosis of carcinoma were more likely to have had DAPZ with focal atypia, although this did not reach statistical significance (70% vs. 36%, P = 0.08). We histologically confirmed the carcinoma diagnosis in 18/20 cases. In 12/14 radical prostatectomies, we were able to review the slides. Eleven had Gleason score 3+3=6 adenocarcinoma in addition to background DAPZ; 9 showed peripheral zone organ-confined cancer, and 2 had focal extraprostatic extension. In one case of DAPZ misdiagnosed as cancer on biopsy, no carcinoma was found at prostatectomy. DAPZ is a newly described and diagnostically challenging mimicker of prostate cancer seen in prostate needle biopsies from typically younger patients. Our findings suggest that DAPZ should be considered a risk factor for prostate cancer and that patients with this finding should be followed closely and rebiopsied.
  
  
• Editorial Comment
  Adenosis is a focal lesion that may be confused with carcinoma in transurethral resection specimens (1) or in needle biopsy specimens (2). Another commonly used term for adenosis is atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (3). Epstein prefers the term adenosis, as prefacing adenomatous hyperplasia with the term atypical has adverse consequences in terms of practical patient management considering that there are little data in support of a relation between adenosis and carcinoma. By designating these lesions as atypical, many patients will be subjected to unnecessary repeat biopsies.
  In general this lesion is not reported by the pathologist being only a problem in the differential diagnosis with adenocarcinoma. Immunohistochemistry is useful for the correct diagnosis. Lotan and Epstein report a variant of adenosis that is diffuse and seen in younger patients in prostate needle biopsies. Forty-three (72%) men had available clinical follow-up with 35 (81%) patients undergoing rebiopsy. Of the rebiopsied patients, 20 (57%) were subsequently diagnosed with carcinoma, with an average of 15 months elapsed between initial biopsy and carcinoma diagnosis.
  The authors consider this newly described variant of adenosis diagnostically challenging mimicker of prostate cancer seen in prostate needle biopsies from typically younger patients (average patient age 49 years). The findings suggest that diffuse adenosis of the peripheral zone should be considered a risk factor for prostate cancer and that patients with this finding should be followed closely and rebiopsied. Therefore this lesion should be reported by the pathologists.

References
1. Gaudin PB, Epstein JI: Adenosis of the prostate. Histologic features in transurethral resection specimens. Am J Surg Pathol. 1994; 18: 863-70.
2. Gaudin PB, Epstein JI: Adenosis of the prostate. Histologic features in needle biopsy specimens. Am J Surg Pathol. 1995; 19: 737-47.
3. Bostwick DG, Srigley J, Grignon D, Maksem J, Humphrey P, van der Kwast TH, et al.: Atypical adenomatous hyperplasia of the prostate: morphologic criteria for its distinction from well-differentiated carcinoma. Hum Pathol. 1993; 24: 819-32.

Dr. Athanase Billis
Full-Professor of Pathology
State University of Campinas, Unicamp
Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
E-mail: athanase@fcm.unicamp.br