Multiple immunoperoxidase markers in benign hyperplasia and adenocarcinoma of the prostate

A series of 60 cases of prostatic adenocarcinoma and 34 cases of benign prostatic hyperplasia were examined quantitatively after immunoperoxidase staining for prostate-specific antigen (PSA), prostate-specific acid phosphatase (PSAP), carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA), epithelial membrane antigen (EMA), alpha fetoprotein (AFP), and human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG). The tumors were graded I to IV according to the MDAH grading system recently proposed. Fifty-nine of the 60 tumors were positive for PSA and 58 were positive for PSAP. The one PSA and PSAP negative case was CEA negative and weakly EMA positive. Grade I to III tumors stained more tumor cells and more diffusely for PSA and PSAP than grade IV tumors. There was no significant difference in the intensity or extent of staining between grade I and grade II-III tumors for PSA and PSAP. A comparison of PSA and PSAP showed that PSA stained more intensely and more extensively than PSAP. Benign prostatic tissue and low-grade prostatic tumors did not stain for CEA but three of the 20 grade IV tumors and one of the 23 grade II-III tumors did. Staining for EMA was focal and showed no relation to tumor grade. Benign and malignant lesions failed to stain for AFP and HCG.