Androgen receptor in electroresected and cold punch-resected specimens. Usefulness of Kaplan cold punch resectoscope

The measurement of androgen receptor and 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels in prostatic carcinoma may be of value in predicting responsiveness to anti-androgenic therapy. A sufficient amount of prostatic carcinoma tissue must be removed for measuring androgen receptor and DHT levels. We have studied the usefulness of Kaplan cold punch-resection compared with electroresection for obtaining tissue in 29 cases of enucleated benign prostatic hyperplasia. DHT level in electroresected specimens was similar to controls. However, following low, moderate, and high-power electroresection an average of total R1881 binding sites (Bmax) of electroresected specimens was reduced to 82.2, 71.9, and 52.1 per cent of corresponding controls, respectively. In contrast, the per cent decrease of Bmax of Kaplan cold punch-resected specimens was only 10 per cent of the control. From our data, Kaplan cold punch-resection of the prostate appears to be a useful tool for obtaining tissue suitable for measuring androgen receptor levels.