Boundary in the Pathologic Evaluation of Premalignant Prostatic Lesions

The term “premalignant lesion” encompasses diverse morphological entities that vary in their phenotype and biologic behavior. This diversity makes the group heterogeneous, although these lesions share the common factor of having pathologic characteristics intermediate between normal (benign) and neoplastic (malignant). This creates dilemmas in reaching a pathologic diagnosis and in predicting biological behavior. The aim of this article is to present a series of case studies which highlight difficult diagnostic situations. Emphasis is placed on diagnostic criteria and available procedures. At present, two distinct atypical Prostatic lesions are recognized: one in which the change is mainly cytological (PIN), and another in which the change is mainly architectural (Atypical adenomatous Hyperplasia or AAH). © 1995, Gustav Fischer Verlag · Stuttgart · Jena · New York. All rights reserved.