Histopathological changes in androgen-deprived localized prostatic cancer. A study in total prostatectomy specimens

Androgen deprivation with triptorelin treatment prior to total prostatectomy gave the opportunity of studying consequent morphological changes in the surgical specimens from 38 men with localized prostatic cancer. Multiple core-needle biopsies were taken prior to treatment and compared to the step-sectioned surgical specimens. The histological changes in the prostate following androgen deprivation include glandular atrophy, nuclear pyknosis, cytoplasmic vacuolation, squamous metaplasia and an increase in the relative amount of stroma. None of these changes could be correlated to pretreatment tumour grade, nor to the volume of the residual tumour. A positive correlation was found between tumour grade prior to therapy and volume of residual tumour after treatment. The treatment was not associated with downgrading of the malignancy. On the contrary, in 16% of the cases, foci of a higher grade were found in the surgical specimens compared to the pretreatment core-needle biopsies.