EXPRESSION OF THE TUMOR-MARKER D-GALACTOSE-BETA-[1-]3]-N-ACETYL-D-GALACTOSAMINE BY PREMALIGNANT AND MALIGNANT PROSTATE

Accurate and consistent discrimination of prostatic carcinomas from be nign lesions and vice versa continues to be a vexing problem in diagno stic pathology. We have tested the usefulness of the tumor marker D-ga lactose-beta-[1-->3]-N-acetyl-D-galactosamine in differentiating the b enign from the malignant and premalignant lesions of the prostate. A s equential galactose oxidase technique (overnight incubation), followed by Schiff's reaction (15 minutes), was done on deparaffinized tissue sections of 65 carcinomas, 25 hyperplasias, 11 foci of adenosis, and 1 0 normal specimens. While none of the 35 benign prostates and 11 foci of adenosis expressed D-galactose-beta-[1-->3]-N-acetyl-D-galactosamin e (100% specificity), 62 (95.4% sensitivity) of 65 adenocarcinomas var iably expressed the marker. We therefore propose that this simple tech nique may have potential use in routine histopathological analysis of prostatic specimens. This marker may also serve as the basis of assays for early detection of prostatic malignancies.