IMPROVED TISSUE-CULTURE METHOD FOR THE STUDY OF PROSTATIC-CARCINOMA -A SIGNIFICANT DIAGNOSTIC-TOOL

A new in vitro method for early detection of prostatic cancer is descr ibed. The results of tissue culture of prostatic epithelial cells harv ested during digital rectal examination were compared with patient-mat ched biopsy findings in a double-blind study. An arbitrary combination of five culture parameters (displayed in vitro by cultured prostatic cells and related to neoplastic and differentiation features of the sa mple (growth capacity, proportion of epithelium and morphologic atypia of overlapping cells, multinucleated cells and vacuolized cells]), wa s created after two weeks of culture; this combination, referred to as the Global Tissue Culture Score (GTCS), ranged from 0 (negative resul t or benign behavior) to 15 (highly abnormal neoplastic behavior). The GTCS was significantly higher in biopsy-proven prostatic carcinoma th an in other prostatic diseases. The combination of GTCS and patient ag e was highly sensitive and specific for a diagnosis of prostatic carci noma, according to the biopsy results. Our findings indicate that the early diagnosis of prostatic carcinoma can be obtained by a tissue cul ture method which allows in vitro growth of epithelial cells harvested through digital rectal prostatic massage. This method is easy to perf orm, is non-invasive, is able to discriminate between biologically agg ressive and non-aggressive neoplasms, and may be useful for mass scree ning of prostatic carcinoma in conjunction with digital rectal exam. E arly diagnosis of prostatic carcinoma may maximize the potential curat ive value of radical prostatectomy or other forms of therapy for this highly prevalent cancer.