HISTOLOGIC DIFFERENCES IN BENIGN PROSTRATE HYPERPLASIA BETWEEN CHINESE AND AMERICAN MEN

BACKGROUND. This investigation sought to determine morphologic differe nces between Chinese and Americans with symptomatic benign prostatic h yperplasia (BPH), in an admixture of stroma, epithelium, and luminal s paces. METHODS. Adjacent sections of simple prostatectomy specimens fr om China and the U.S. were stained to highlight the stroma and epithel ium. Image analysis was performed on random fields. RESULTS. Chinese t issue had higher glandular densities (mean = 12.5 acini/mm(2) vs. 6.2 acini/mm(2); P < 0.0001), while American samples had higher percent st roma (mean = 66% vs. 51%; P = 0.0003). Mean luminal cell heights in th e Chinese and American prostate acini were 11.7 and 19.0 microns, resp ectively (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS. These data indicate significant hi stologic variation in BPH between Chinese and American men undergoing simple prostatectomy. These differences may provide a focus for invest igating the epidemiological variation in clinical BPH and carcinoma be tween our two countries, and could have applications in clinical manag ement of symptomatic BPH. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.