Prostatic ductal adenocarcinoma: a mini review

Abstract

Prostatic ductal adenocarcinomas may arise either in large primary periurethral prostatic ducts or in the peripheral prostatic ducts. Ductal adenocarcinomas are composed of tall columnar cells arranged in cribriform, papillary, solid, single glands, and PIN-like patterns. Other than the prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN)-like ductal pattern, which behaves like Gleason pattern 3, ductal adenocarcinoma is comparable to Gleason pattern 4 prostate cancer. Ductal adenocarcinoma can have a patchy basal cell layer and typically expresses prostate-specific antigen (PSA) immunohistochemically. Mimickers of ductal adenocarcinoma include prostatic urethral polyps, hyperplastic benign prostate glands, high-grade PIN, colorectal adenocarcinoma, and papillary urothelial carcinoma.