Prostatic cancer in a young adult: a report of 2 cases

Patients younger than 45 years with prostate cancer are rare. Between 1999 and 2002, we studied two cases of prostate cancer in men aged under 45 years. Case 1; a 45-year-old man admitted with the chief complaint of urination disorder. Serum level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) was 5,000 ng/ml or higher. Transrectal needle biopsy of the prostate revealed moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma. Computed tomography (CT) and bone scan showed para-aorta lymph node metastasis and bone metastasis. Hormone therapy was performed. Case 2; a 37-year-old man admitted with the chief complaint of pollakisuria and sense of residual urine. Serum level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) was 24 ng/ml. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed that the prostate tumor invaded the bladder wall. Transrectal needle biopsy revealed poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. Hormone therapy and radiation therapy were performed. Twenty-one cases reported in Japan in addition to the present cases are reviewed.     

前列腺导管腺癌一例报告并文献复习

目的探讨前列腺导管腺癌的临床、病理特征及治疗方法。方法1例反复血精5个月，血尿4个月的患者直肠指诊示：前列腺右侧可及直径约1cm质软肿物。血清前列腺特异抗原（PSA）0.7ng/ml。前列腺穿刺活检提示前列腺腺癌。患者行根治性前列腺切除术。结果病理报告：前列腺右叶大导管腺癌，向外浸润右侧精囊，Gleason分级5/4（Sum=9），pT3b;免疫组化染色PSA（＋），前列腺酸性磷酸酶（PAP）（＋＋），雄激素受体（AR）（-）。患者术后恢复良好，血精、血尿消失，随访7年仍存活。结论前列腺导管腺癌是前列腺癌罕见的亚型，难于早期诊断，确诊主要依靠病理和免疫组化检查，治疗方法可采用根治性前列腺切除术。     

Prostate cancer in a young adult : a case report

We report a case of prostate cancer in a 41-year-old male. The patient initially visited another institution with a chief complaint of left breech pain. He was referred to our hospital for further investigation. Serum level of PSA was 267ng/ml and multiple bone metastases were found on bone scintigram. Digital rectal examination revealed a stony-hard prostate. Computed tomography showed multiple lung and lymph node metastases. Transperineal needle biopsy of the prostate revealed moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma (Gleason score 4＋5) frombilateral lobes (the 3th Edition). The patient was diagnosed with cT4N1M1c prostate cancer and maximal androgen blockade therapy was commenced.     

Metastases to the penis from carcinoma of the prostate

A 58-year-old man presented with dysuria at the Osaka Medical College Hospital in November 1996. Laboratory examination revealed elevated serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) to > 100 ng/mL. Adenocarcinoma of the prostate with metastasis to the bone was diagnosed after a biopsy of the prostate and bone scintigraphy; hormonal therapy was administered. Although bone metastasis was well controlled and the serum PSA level declined to within normal levels (2.0 ng/mL), several painless nodules were found on the penile glans. Biopsy of the nodules showed that the penile tumor was a metastasis from the prostate cancer. The patient underwent partial penectomy for relief from penile pain. The serum PSA level showed no elevation 3 months after the partial penectomy, suggesting that careful observation of prostate cancer patients is necessary, even when oseous metastasis is well controlled and serum PSA levels are kept within normal ranges by hormonal therapy. The case also indicates that urologists should consider the possibility of metastasis to the penis from prostate cancer.     

A case report: mucinous carcinoma of prostate

We present a case of mucinous carcinoma of prostate. A 64-year-old man visited our hospital because of high score of prostate specific antigen (PSA). Prostatic biopsies were performed twice, but cancer was not found. Since the PSA value elevated gradually and a hard nodule in the right lobe of prostate became palpable, we repeated the biopsy that revealed cancer. Retropubic radical prostatectomy was performed and pathological examination revealed mucinous carcinoma of prostate. Mucinous carcinoma of prostate is rare, and to our knowledge, only 46 cases have been reported in the Japanese literature.     

Prostate cancer in a 75-year-old man after four decades of testicular androgen deprivation.

In a 75-year-old patient referred for mild obstructive symptoms, physical examination revealed a clinically manifest T2B cancer of the prostate (CaP) involving the right lobe, and bilateral testicular atrophy (TA), right cryptorchidism with TA after orchiopexy at age 10, and left mumps orchitis with secondary atrophy at age 35). Since the age of 35, the patient had a limited sexual life and fathered no children. Transrectal ultrasonography demonstrated a small prostate (21 cm3) with a large hypoechoic zone in the right lobe, an isoechoic left lobe and no sign of capsular/seminal involvement. Three biopsies of the right lobe demonstrated a cancer (Gleason 4-3; score 7) of the right lobe, 3 biopsies of the left lobe showed an atrophic prostate with slight intra-acinar hyperplasia and moderate dysplasia. Morphometric studies showed these findings to be consistent with long-standing androgen deprivation. Serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) was 8.7 ng/ml, whereas serum testicular androgens were within the castrate value (serum testosterone 0.2 ng/ml, dihydrotestosterone less than 0.05 ng/ml). Serum LH and adrenal androgens were within normal ranges. Bone scan was negative and NMR demonstrated no nodal enlargement. Considering the age of the patient, antiandrogen therapy was given (cyproterone acetate 50 mg t.i.d.). The patient reported marked improvement at 3 and 6 months of follow-up and PSA fell to 1 ng/ml at month 6. However, repeat rectal exams and ultrasonography showed no dramatic modification of the gland. The patient has since been lost to follow-up. Two conclusions may be drawn from this observation. Testicular androgen deprivation at age 35 although leading to prostatic atrophy does not prevent the development of CaP.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Failure to maintain the suppressed level of serum testosterone during luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonist therapy in a patient with prostate cancer

A 75-year-old man with metastatic prostate cancer had been treated with goserelin acetate, and prostate specific antigen (PSA) had decreased, but 11/2 years after beginning the treatment of goserelin acetate, PSA was markedly elevated and serum testosterone was at normal level. After castration the serum testosterone was at castrate level and PSA decreased. In the present case, leuprorelin acetate 1-month depot suppressed the luteinizing hormone level in 1 month, even after the patient underwent castration.     

Prostate cancer detection by prostate biopsy among Japanese with prostate-specific antigen below 4.0 ng/ml

The cases of prostate cancer diagnosed at our hospital after the introduction of transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy were analyzed to ascertain the cancer detection rate among individuals with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) below 4.0 ng/ml and to assess the pathological characteristics of the prostatectomy specimens. During the period from January 1997 to December 2003, 1,167 individuals received prostate biopsies at our hospital. Before March 2003, the PSA cut-off level for biopsy was set at 4.0 ng/ml, but a biopsy was sometimes performed if a rectal examination revealed abnormalities or the patient desired a biopsy with a PSA below 4.0 ng/ml. After April 2003, all individuals with a PSA over 3.1 ng/ml were biopsied. The results of the prostate biopsy and the pathology data on radical prostatectomy specimens were compared between individuals with a PSA below 4.0 ng/ml and those with a PSA of 4.1-10 ng/ml. The prostate cancer detection rate among individuals with a PSA between 3.1 and 4.0 ng/ml was 19.4% (12/62) before March 2003 and 15.6% (7/45) after April 2003. The number of cancer-positive core was significantly lower among individuals with a PSA below 4.0 ng/ml. On prostatectomy specimens the percentage of surgical margin positive cases was significantly higher among individuals with a PSA below 4.0ng/ml (17 cases) than those with a PSA of 4.1-10 ng/ml (67 cases), although there was no significant difference between these two groups in terms of the pathological stage and Gleason score. Our results indicate that the prostate cancer detection rate is also high among Japanese men with a PSA below 4.0 ng/ml. The biopsy results and pathological features for prostate cancer with a PSA below 4.0 ng/ml did not differ markedly from prostate cancer with a PSA in the gray zone (4.1-10.0 ng/ml).     

A prostatic duct carcinoma difficult to distinguish from transitional cell carcinoma: a case report

A 77-year-old male with a complaint of dysuria and gross hematuria for 3 months visited our hospital. Abdominal ultrasonography, computed tomographic scan and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a prominent tumor from the bladder neck. Serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) level was high (1,130 ng/ml) suggesting prostate cancer, but transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) was detected by transurethral biopsy. Bone scintigraphy revealed multiple bone metastasis. Since gross hematuria requiring bladder tamponade continued, simple cystoprostatectomy and cutaneous ureterostomy were performed. Pathological findings showed prostatic acinar carcinoma and prostatic duct carcinoma mimicking TCC, and PSA immunohistochemically weak positive. The final diagnosis was prostate cancer consisting of acinar and ductal component. Adjuvant hormonal therapy was performed, but was ineffective. The patient died 2.5 months after operation. We reviewed and discussed 66 cases of prostatic duct carcinoma, including our case, in the Japanese literature.     

PSA recurrence after brachytherapy for seed misplacement: a double-blind radiologic and pathologic work-up after salvage prostatectomy

A 64-year-old man was treated with brachytherapy for prostate cancer. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) nadir was achieved at 3 months, while at 24 months PSA increased to 18.7 ng ml(-1). Re-biopsy and imaging revealed locally recurrent prostate carcinoma without metastasis. The patient was treated with salvage radical prostatectomy, and the surgical specimen underwent double-blind evaluation with RX scan and whole-mount histopathology sections. Radiology revealed an area without any seeds in the right base of the prostate, and pathologic assessment demonstrated adenocarcinoma involving the right base of the gland. This case is indicative of tumor relapse occurring for seed migration after good initial positioning.     

Parameter zur Verbesserung der Spezifit?t des prostataspezifischen Antigens

Purpose

The aim of the study was to improve the case detection rate of prostate cancer for patients who had unremarkable palpation findings and a PSA value in the range of 4 to 10?ng/ml by combination of the parameters total PSA (tPSA), f/tPSA ratio, prostate volume, PSA density, patient??s age and transrectal ultrasound findings.

Methods

Sextant biopsy of the prostate was performed for 619 patients aged 45?C75?years who had unremarkable palpation findings and PSA values in the range of 4 to 10?ng/ml. The f/tPSA ratio was determined, transrectal ultrasound examination was performed, the prostate volume was measured and the PSA density calculated. The relationship between the various test variables ?C and their combination ?C and the histology results was investigated using logistic regression.

Results

Prostate cancer was detected in 131 of 619 patients. Analysis of the aforementioned test variables by means of logistic regression revealed that the combination of the parameters f/tPSA ratio, PSA density and patient??s age can significantly increase the sensitivity and specificity of PSA in predicting prostate cancer compared with the use of these parameters on an individual basis. With an assumed limit value of 5% for performance of punch biopsy, 31% of biopsies could be avoided in practice. In such a case, only 3% of instances of prostate cancer would have gone undetected.

Conclusion

The combined use of f/tPSA ratio, PSA density and patient??s age can significantly enhance the case detection sensitivity for the PSA range of 4 to 10?ng/ml.     

A case of papillary adenocarcinoma of the prostate which was difficult to diagnose]

We report a case of papillary adenocarcinoma of the prostate found by urethroscopy. An 84-year-old male visited our hospital complaining of initial hematuria in July 1997. No abnormal findings were detected despite repeated urological examinations until endoscopic examination revealed fine papillary tumors in the prostatic urethra along with benign prostatic hyperplasia-like prominent left lobe of the prostate in June 2000. Serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) level was 4.1 ng/ml. He underwent transurethral resection of the urethral tumors and the prominent lobe, which was found to contain packed papillary tumors. Both of these tumors were well differentiated papillary adenocarcinoma most likely originating from the prostate because PSA immunostaining was positive. The prostate was irradiated postoperatively. Papillary adenocarcinoma localized in the prostate is difficult to diagnose preoperatively.     

Primary signet ring cell carcinoma of the prostate: Report and review of 42 cases

We report a case of primary signet ring cell carcinoma of the prostate in a 75-year-old man. Serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) level at presentation was 9.3 ng/mL. The tumor was confined within the right prostate lobe and the patient was treated with neoadjuvant hormonal therapy and radical prostatectomy. He was alive with no evidence of disease 12 months after surgery. None of the tumor was stained with periodic acid-Schiff and Alcian blue. Immunohistochemically, the tumor was positive for PSA and prostatic acid phosphatase and negative for carcinoembryonic antigen. We reviewed 41 previously reported cases of signet ring cell carcinoma of the prostate, examining both histopathological and clinical information.     

Prostate cancer with disseminated carcinomatosis of bone marrow initially presenting with disseminated intravascular coagulation syndrome: a case report

A 56-year-old man was admitted to our hospital complaining of dyspnea, general fatigue and lumbago. Several examinations revealed severe pancytopenia with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), multiple lymph node metastases, and extremely high serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) level. Hormonal therapy under a diagnosis of advanced prostate cancer was started. Bone marrow biopsy, performed for the assessment of pancytopenia, revealed that there were no hematopoietic cells but only diffuse infiltration of prostate cancer cells. His bone scintigraphy showed a super scan image. Therefore, our diagnosis was prostate cancer with disseminated carcinomatosis of bone marrow. Although the response to hormonal therapy had been initially good, the time to PSA nadir was 9 weeks and he died 34 weeks after the start of the treatment. To our knowledge, 20 cases of prostate cancer with disseminated carcinomatosis of bone marrow have been reported in the Japanese literature including this case and the clinical features are reviewed.     

Are prostate biopsies mandatory in patients with prostate‐specific antigen increase during intravesical immuno‐ or chemotherapy for superficial bladder cancer?

BACKGROUND: Aim of this study was to evaluate if there was a significant association between intravesical immuno- or chemotherapy and the increase of PSA serum level. It could be important to avoid useless prostate biopsies. METHODS: PSA values were determined in 106 male patients who had undergone intravesical immuno- (77 cases) or chemotherapy (29 cases) from 2001 to 2005. Blood samples were obtained before and after the induction course of instillation therapy and at 3, 6, and 12 months during the maintenance course. RESULTS: 41.6% of patients at the end of the BCG induction course and 45.5% at 3 months from the beginning of the immunotherapy showed a clinically and statistically significant increase of PSA that returned to the baseline levels within 12 months. Prostate biopsies, performed in 10 patients during BCG therapy, showed inflammatory pictures in 9 cases and a prostate cancer in 1 patient with persistently elevated PSA at 12 months. In 1 case a prostate cancer was histologically found following radical cystectomy for disease progression. A statistically but not clinically significant difference of PSA level was registered in patients treated with chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm that a statistically and clinically significant PSA increase is registered during immunotherapy but not during chemotherapy. PSA elevation in patients treated with intravesical BCG is self-limited and prostate biopsies are not mandatory in these patients and could be delayed at 12 months, while monitoring PSA. On the other side, prostate biopsies are mandatory in patients with PSA abnormal elevation during chemotherapy.     

Late recurrence of a prostatic adenocarcinoma as a solitary splenic metastasis

Splenic metastases of solid tumors are exceptional. We report the first case of an isolated splenic metastasis from prostate carcinoma, 5 years after radical prostatectomy. The splenic tumor was revealed by a pain and progressive increase in the serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level. Histology of the spleen showed an adenocarcinoma immunostained with cytokeratin and PSA markers. The patient remained asymptomatic and his serum PSA level was within normal limits 17 months after the splenectomy. This case suggests that splenic metastasis might be the result of the growth of an early blood-borne micrometastasis within the spleen after a period of clinical latency.     

Small cell carcinoma of the prostate: a case report

An 80-year-old man visited our hospital because of dysuria and pollakisuria. He had undergone anti-androgen therapy for prostate cancer for 8 months at another hospital. His serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) level was 14.4 ng/ml. We performed a prostate biopsy and identified poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma with Gleason score 4 + 5. After 4 months, his serum PSA level increased to 24.8 ng/ml, and we started maximum androgen blockade therapy using additional luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) analogue. Subsequently, although his serum PSA level declined favorably, his condition worsened rapidly and he died at 16 months after the diagnosis. The autopsy pathology of his prostate revealed small cell carcinoma. We reviewed the initial biopsy specimens and found both small cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma histologic types of prostate cancer.     

正常血清PSA进展期前列腺癌1例报告并文献复习

目的:探讨正常血清PSA进展期前列腺癌患者的诊断及治疗方法,提高前列腺癌的诊疗水平。方法:回顾性分析2010年收治的1例正常血清PSA进展期前列腺癌患者临床资料,结合相关文献,讨论正常血清PSA进展期前列腺癌的诊断及治疗方法。结果:患者血清PSA水平一直处于正常水平,经病理学检查证实为前列腺癌,临床分期为T4N0M0,行前列腺去势术+抗雄激素治疗,现已无进展生存15个月。结论:正常血清PSA进展期前列腺癌多系特殊病理类型的前列腺癌,预后相对较差。在进行PSA筛查时,需综合考虑f/tPSA比值;术后随诊时需定期进行影像学检查,以了解有无疾病进展;治疗上除采取内分泌治疗外,必要时宜早期采用放疗及化疗。     

Clinical features of prostate cancer patients younger than 50 years: Report of seven cases

BACKGROUND: The incidence of prostate cancer increases with age and latent cancer is common in older men. But clinical prostate cancer is rare in men aged < 50 years. METHODS: Between 1988 and 2000, we studied seven cases of prostate cancer in men aged under 50 years. The clinicopathological results included: the first sign or symptom; prostate-specific antigen (PSA) at the time of diagnosis; existence of abnormal digital rectal examination (DRE); the differentiation of the cancer and Gleason score; and the outcome of treatment. RESULTS: Six cases were diagnosed as stage D2. One case was diagnosed as stage B2 and the patient underwent radical prostatectomy. None of the cases were detected by mass screening. The PSA at diagnosis was < 10 ng/mL in only one case and that patient underwent radical prostatectomy. Six cases were diagnosed pathologically as poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. The only patient who survived more than 5 years underwent radical prostatectomy. CONCLUSION: Six of seven cases of prostate cancer were detected at advanced stage. Only one case was thought to be curable and this patient's cancer was detected by chance occult blood test. Because young prostate cancer patients are potential candidates for radical prostatectomy and the sensitivity of PSA might be higher in young men, high-risk groups could be screened by PSA.     

A validated strategy for side specific prediction of organ confined prostate cancer: a tool to select for nerve sparing radical prostatectomy

PURPOSE: Nerve sparing radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer should be restricted to patients who harbor tumors without capsular penetration. To our knowledge the selection criteria for nerve sparing radical prostatectomy are not clearly defined. We investigated a panel of preoperative tumor characteristics with respect to their ability to predict organ confined tumor growth for each lobe of the prostate to indicate unilateral or bilateral nerve sparing radical prostatectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nine preoperative tumor characteristics in 278 patients with clinically localized prostate cancer were included in retrospective univariate and multivariate tree structured regression analysis. The association of clinical stage, serum prostate specific antigen (PSA), PSA density, and results of transrectal ultrasound and systematic sextant biopsy, including a quantitative assessment of cancer in the biopsies with organ confined tumor growth, was statistically evaluated. Except for serum PSA and PSA density preoperative characteristics were considered separately for each prostate lobe. Multivariate analysis results were validated prospectively in 353 patients. RESULTS: On univariate analysis the number of positive biopsies was the most useful single parameter with a positive predictive value of 83% in 274 lobes and a negative predictive value of 55%, followed by mm. of tumor in the biopsy. Of all characteristics included in multivariate analysis only the number of biopsies with high grade cancer, the number of positive biopsies and serum PSA were independent for predicting organ confined cancer. When PSA was less than 10 ng./ml. and not more than 1 biopsy with high grade cancer was identified in a lobe, organ confined tumor growth was present in 86.1% of cases. On prospective validation the same criteria led to an 88.5% incidence of organ confined prostate cancer. Pooling the 2 most favorable groups led to 391 prostate lobes (70.8% of those investigated) with a positive predictive value of 82.1% (95% confidence interval 77.9% to 85.8%). Using the multivariate approach more prostate lobes were assigned to a favorable risk group than on univariate analysis. Clinical stage and simple Gleason grade did not contribute independent information for predicting organ confined disease. CONCLUSIONS: Quantifying cancer and high grade cancer by systematic biopsy and serum PSA concentration are useful preoperative characteristics for predicting organ confined prostate cancer. Side specific analysis of these parameters is a flexible and reliable tool for selecting patients for nerve sparing radical prostatectomy.