Tumor-specific immunity in patients with prostatic adenocarcinoma or benign prostatic hyperplasia

Twenty patients were skin tested with solubilized components of autologous prostatic adenocarcinoma or benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). Four of ten patients bearing adenocarcinoma of the prostate exhibited tumor-specific cutaneous responsiveness to solubilized autologous tumor-specific antigens (TSA). One responding patient also responded to solubilized allogeneic TSA. A single patient bearing prostatic carcinoma responded only to solubilized components of allogeneic BPH. Nine of ten patients with BPH exhibited no response to solubilized components of autologous BPH. The patient responding to the extract of autologous BPH, however, also had clinical stage B adenocarcinoma of the prostate. These observations suggest host responsiveness to TSA of prostatic carcinoma. Possible clinical significance and mechanisms to explain the findings are discussed.