Genetic Analysis of Prostatic Atypical Adenomatous Hyperplasia (Adenosis)

Atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (AAH) of the prostate, a small glandular proliferation, is a putative precursor lesion to prostate cancer, in particular to the subset of well-differentiated carcinomas that arise in the transition zone, the same region where AAH lesions most often occur. Several morphological characteristics of AAH suggest a relationship to cancer; however, no definitive evidence has been reported. In this study, we analyzed DNA from 25 microdissected AAH lesions for allelic imbalance as compared to matched normal DNA, using one marker each from chromosome arms 1q, 6q, 7q, 10q, 13q, 16q, 17p, 17q, and 18q, and 19 markers from chromosome 8p. We observed 12% allelic imbalance, with loss only within chromosome 8p11-12. These results suggest that genetic alterations in transition zone AAH lesions may be infrequent. This genotypic profile of AAH will allow for comparisons with well-differentiated carcinomas in the transition zone of the prostate.