Abstract

Prostatic carcinoma is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States in men. Prostatic carcinoma in Korean men is uncommon and accounts for less than 1% of total cancer: however, the incidence of prostatic carcinoma is continuously increasing. Several clinicopathologic parameters including stage, Gleason score, and serum PSA level have been widely accepted as well established prognostic factors. To study the clinicopathologic features of prostatic carcinoma in Korean men, 58 cases of prostatic carcinoma, which were diagnosed on radical prostatectony specimens at Asan Medical Center from Jan. 1993 to June 1998 (1993; 3 cases, 1994; 3, 1995; 6, 1996; 12, 1997; 24, 1998; 10), were evaluated. The prostatic carcinomas were divided into three groups according to Gleason score. Tumors with Gleason score 6 or lower, 7, and 8 to 10 were categorized as low-grade, intermediate-grade and high-grade tumor, respectively. The overall mean age of the patients was 62.6 years (range, 4 6~76 years); mean age was 65.4, 62.8 and 61.1 in low, intermediate and high-grade tumor, respectively (p>0.05). The overall mean serum PSA level was 38.6 ng/ml (range, 0.3~276.0 ng/ml); mean serum PSA level was 17.0, 29.0 and 60.9 ng/ml in low, intermediate and high-grade tumor, respectively (p=0.002). The mean T stage was 2.3, 2.4 and 3.1 in low, intermediate and high-grade tumor (p=0.001). The percentage of positive resection margin was 33.3, 50.0 and 91.0 % in low, intermediate and high-grade tumor (p=0.001). The overall presence of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) was 79.3 %; percentage of the presence of PIN was 100, 79.2 and 68.2 % in low, intermediate and high-grade tumor (p>0.05). As reported in the literature, our results indicated that Gleason score was a good predictor of stage and prognosis. The higher Gleason score, the more cases were with positive surgical margins, advanced pathologic stage, and high serum PSA level (p<0.05).

• Keywords: Prostatic carcinoma;Gleason score;PSA;Pathologic stage;Prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia