Comparison of nuclear morphometric results between needle biopsy and surgical specimens from patients with prostate cancer

Abstract

Objectives. To compare nuclear morphometric values and Gleason scores between biopsy and radical prostatectomy specimens in patients with clinically localized prostate cancer. Methods. The mean nuclear area (MNA), volume-weighted mean nuclear volume (MNV), and form factor (FF) were measured on the 18-gauge needle biopsy and radical prostatectomy specimens of 25 patients with clinically localized prostate cancer. The correlation between biopsy and surgical specimens was investigated for MNA, MNV, FF, and Gleason scores. Results. The average values for the MNA, MNV, and FF of the biopsy specimens (36.2 μm 2, 366 μm 3, and 0.86, respectively) were significantly smaller than those of the prostatectomy specimens (51.4 μm 2, 646 μm 3, and 0.91) by Student’s paired t test. The Pearson correlation of morphometric parameters between the biopsy and surgical specimens was significant only for FF. A comparison of histologic grading between the biopsy and surgical specimens revealed identical Gleason scores in 32% and identical grades (on a three-grade system) in 68% of all the cases. Conclusions. Discrepant nuclear morphometric results were observed between biopsy and surgical specimens of localized prostate cancer. The reason for such differing results is unclear but may be caused by artifacts associated with tissue sampling and processing. It is recommended that data obtained by biopsy should be considered separately from that obtained from surgical specimens.