Mucin Histochemistry Study of the Prostate in Normal and Malignant Lesions

Background: There is an increase in the incidence of the prostate cancer by 1% yearly which has been recorded in the last three years. Early diagnosis of prostate cancer is important and differentiation between normal and malignant lesions of prostate has been a diagnostic dilemma. There is unavailability of modern techniques in rural areas as well as in developing countries. Aims and Objectives: To evaluate the usefulness of mucin stains in differentiating normal and malignant lesions of prostate. Material and Methods: The study was done on 33 specimens of normal (n=11) and malignant (n=22) prostates which were collected from postmortem and surgically resected specimens in Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences and Krishna Hospital Medical Research Central. Normal prostate specimens were used as controls with carcinoma of prostate as test. The type of study was case control study. Routine Hematoxylin / Eosin and special stains as PAS, PASDiastase, PAS-Phenyl Hydrazine, Alcian Blue pH-2.5 and 1, Aldehyde Fuchsin, combined AB-PAS and AFAB were performed. Results: Results were tabulated according to colour intensity into different grades ranging from -ve to +++. Neutral mucins were observed in normal prostate and in prostate carcinoma acid mucins were seen predominantly present. Conclusion: Mucin histochemistry may provide a valuable and cost effective tool for the diagnostic histopathology of prostate lesions