ABSTRACT
Evaluation of prostate hyperplasia for possible foci of malignancy has been traditionally performed by light microscopy of tissue sections on the basis of morphological characteristics grouped into diagnostic clusters reflecting our understanding of the natural history of prostatic cancers. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) flow cytometry of prostate adenocarcinoma at advanced metastasized stages reveals 42% of the tumors to be diploid, 45% tetraploid and only 13% aneuploid. Differences in the tumor behavior are strongly correlated with ploidy: 75% of tetra- or aneuploid tumors subsequently progress locally or systemically. Some workers believe that in patients with stage A or B prostatic cancer nuclear DNA quantitation on needle biopsy specimens allows better estimates of prostatic cancer progression than that based on tumor grade alone. High levels of 5'-nucleotidase have been found in human prostates without cancer, and this enzyme activity decreases in prostatic carcinoma.
