Histopathologic characterisation of prostate diseases in Port Harcourt

To carry out histopathologic analysis of diseases of the prostate gland reported at the department of Anatomical Pathology of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital between January 1996 and December 2005.

This is a retrospective histologic analysis of prostate samples seen at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. Where necessary, new slides were prepared from blocks of the samples. The request cards of the patients were also retrieved and scrutinized for age, presenting symptoms and clinical diagnosis.

Prostate biopsies constituted 8.8% of all surgical specimens and 30.9% of all male specimens received during this study period. Only 529 (7.6%) of all prostate specimens where included for the review because the slides or blocks of the rest could not be traced. Of the 529 specimens reviewed, 301 (56.9%) were needle biopsies while 228 (43.1%) were prostatectomies. Three hundred and thirty one (62.6%) of the cases were nodular hyperplasia and 198 (37.4%) were invasive adenocarcinomas, thirty-four (17.2%) of the invasive adenocarcinomas were incidental carcinomas. There was prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) in 79 (14.9%) cases. Prostatitis was found in 223 cases (42.2%) of the entire specimen studied. All cases of prostatitis occurred in association with nodular hyperplasia, invasive carcinoma or prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN).

The burden of prostate diseases among adult males in Port Harcourt is high and malignant neoplastic diseases in the form of clinical and incidental carcinomas as well as premalignant diseases in the form of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) were quite common.