[Electron microscopy of prostatic carcinoma cells following castration (author's transl)]

Prostatic tissues from 20 patients with confirmed prostatic carcinoma were studied electron-microscopically. Biopsies were taken 4 weeks after castration. Most carcinoma cells revealed signs of androgen deprivation. In embryonal like light cells the changes were not significant. In androgen-dependent cells we distinguished three different reactions: 1. Emergency of lysosomes and focal degradation of cytoplasma. These changes seemed to us to be the first step in the cell involution. 2. Total vacuolisation of the cells was seen in the advanced stages of cell involution. All organelles of the cell showed signs of degeneration. Sometimes the changes were irreversible. 3. 4 weeks after castration necrosis of cells were seldom seen.