QUANTIFICATION OF TUMOR EXTENSION IN PROSTATE BIOPSIES – IMPORTANCE IN THE IDENTIFICATION OF CONFINED TUMORS

Objective: To assess the importance of quantifying the adenocarcinoma in prostate biopsies when determining the tumor’s final stage in patients who undergo radical prostatectomy. To identify the best methodology for obtaining such data. Patients and Methods: Prostate biopsies from 132 patients were examined, with determina-tion of Gleason histological grade and tumor volume in number of involved fragments, tumor extent of the fragment mostly affected by the tumor and the total percentage of tumor in the specimen. Theses parameters were statistically correlated with the neoplasia’s final stage following the evalua-tion of radical prostatectomy specimens. Results: An average of 12 and a median of 14 biopsy fragments were evaluated per patient. In the univariate analysis the Gleason histological grade, the largest tumor extent in one fragment and the total percentage of tumor in the specimen were correlated with tumor stage of the surgical speci-men. In the multivariate analysis, the Gleason histological grade and the total percentage of tumor were strongly correlated with the neoplasia’s final stage. The risk of the tumor not being confined was 3 for Gleason 7 tumors and 10.6 for Gleason 8 tumors or above. In cases where the tumor involve