IS PROSTATIC INTRAEPITHELIAL NEOPLASIA IN THE TRANSITION CENTRAL ZONEA TRUE PRECURSOR OF CANCER - A LONG-TERM RETROSPECTIVE STUDY IN NORWAY/

Prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) has been considered as a pre cursor of prostatic cancer, Few reports have dealt with the long-term follow-up of PIN lesions, and there is still a lack of proof that PIN is a true premalignant lesion. The objective of this study was to eval uate PIN in the transition/central zone as a marker for subsequent dev elopment of prostatic cancer. The PIN status of tissue specimens from 789 men without prostate cancer was determined in 508 transurethral re sections and 281 transvesical prostatic enucleations. All slides were reviewed blind and independently by two pathologists. The patients wer e followed for an average of 11 years, and the incidence of subsequent cancer and cause-specific survival were analysed. Thirty-six cases of clinical prostatic cancer occurred among the cohort of 789 men throug h follow-up. No association between the presence of PIN in the transit ion/central zone and subsequent cancer development was found. There wa s also no difference in survival related to PIN status among the subse quent cancer patients.