Prostatic carcinoma: some morphological features affecting prognosis

Morphologic features in 146 cases of prostatic carcinoma were correlated with 5-year survival. Simple probability tests showed a significant prognostic difference of the presence or absence of cell borders, lymphocytic infiltration, pleomorphism of nuclei, and McNeal's typing. Further statistical analysis, with a probability test which was adjusted for the distribution of these factors, showed that only the presence or absence of cell borders and lymphocytic infiltration affected prognosis. It is very important for the pathologist reporting on prostate carcinoma to include mention of these factors in his report because of their prognostic importance. In particular it should be noted that if the tumor has indistinct cell borders and there is no lymphocytic infiltration, then it is likely to have a very poor prognosis.