Retained Basal cells in Metastatic Prostate Cancer

Absence of basal cells is well established as the sine qua non of prostatic adenocarcinoma.(1) However, basal cells may not identifiable on H&E sections while fibroblasts and compressed tumour cells can mimic basal cells.

Hence in morphologically equivocal cases immunohistochemistry using basal cell markers [high-molecular weight cytokeratin (HMWCK) and p63)] is used to establish a definitive diagnosis of invasive prostatic adenocarcinoma. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Histopathology. 2016 Jan 08 [Epub ahead of print]

Murali Varma, Fouad S Alchami, David F R Griffiths

Department of Cellular Pathology, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, United Kingdom. , Department of Cellular Pathology, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, United Kingdom. , Department of Cellular Pathology, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, United Kingdom.

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