The percent of needle biopsy cores and surface area positive for cancer are the strongest predictors of pathological stage and tumor volume on multivariate analysis incorporating preoperative serum PSA and Gleason score.

The percent of needle biopsy cores and surface area positive for cancer are the strongest predictors of pathological stage and tumor volume on multivariate analysis incorporating preoperative serum PSA and Gleason score.

Prostatic ductal (endometrioid) adenocarcinoma has been considered a distinct pathologic and clinical entity since it was first described more than 30 years ago. Its current status as a unique neoplasm is controversial, however, because it has considerable histologic overlap with typical acinar adenocarcinoma, particularly in small specimens such as needle biopsies. There are also conflicting views regarding its clinical behavior. We recently encountered a series of typical peripheral zone cancers of the prostate gland with prominent papillary or cribriform pattern that apparently did not involve the large periurethral prostatic ducts or verumontanum. To determine the incidence of these "ductal features" in nonductal carcinoma, we reviewed the findings in 338 consecutive totally embedded whole-mount prostatectomy specimens with typical clinical and pathologic features of acinar carcinoma. We defined carcinoma with significant "ductal features" as one that displayed papillary or cribriform pattern involving an arbitrarily defined aggregate focus at least 5 mm in diameter. Anti-keratin 34beta-E12 immunohistochemical staining for basal cells allowed exclusion of areas of papillary or cribriform pattern of high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia. We identified carcinoma with ductal features (papillary or cribriform growth) in 17 prostatectomy specimens (5% of cases) exclusively in the peripheral zone without involving the periurethral region. Papillary pattern was present in 11 of these cases (65%) and cribriform pattern in 10 (59%), including 4 cases (24%) with both patterns. Of 11 needle biopsy specimens available for examination from these 17 cases, 4 (36%) contained at least focal papillary or cribriform pattern of carcinoma. We conclude that adenocarcinoma arising in the peripheral zone of the prostate gland may display ductal carcinoma features (papillary or cribriform growth) classically associated with ductal adenocarcinoma. These findings, together with the recognized near-constant association of prostatic ductal adenocarcinoma and typical prostate cancer, suggest that ductal adenocarcinoma results from spread of typical prostatic acinar carcinoma into the large accommodating periurethral ducts and stroma, and that there are no unique histologic features other than site of growth. Identification of papillary or cribriform growth of cancer in prostate needle biopsies usually results from peripheral zone adenocarcinoma and not ductal adenocarcinoma.

Clinical tests for human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA require clinical validation before being offered for use by laboratories. To determine the clinical viability of a laboratory-developed test using the Invader HPV reagents (Third Wave Technologies, Madison, WI), a retrospective study was designed using 213 patient cervical cytologic samples. The results of the Invader assay were directly compared with the results obtained using the Hybrid Capture 2 High-Risk HPV assay (Digene, Gaithersburg, MD). The results of both assays were also compared with cytologic evaluation. In addition, clinical performance was evaluated using a standard-of-care approach in which colposcopically guided biopsies were done in cases where standard of care dictated, and the histologic features of the biopsy specimens were noted. The Invader-based test demonstrated a clinical sensitivity in atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance cases of 98% for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2 or worse and 100% for CIN 3 or worse and a negative predictive value of 96.9% (confidence interval, 89.3%-99.6%) using data generated mostly from the use of an earlier version of reagents. These findings support the clinical and laboratory benefits of the Invader method.

The volume of data contained in a data warehouse represents a potential resource to provide the basis for detailed and specific reference intervals. Routine chemistry panel testing data were derived from an outreach laboratory patient population of 438,180 people and then screened by multiple data filters to identify a large and demographically diverse reference population. Reference intervals were determined for 4 common analytes: aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, total bilirubin, and alkaline phosphatase. Each derived reference population contained more than 60,000 people with sex- and age-specific subgroups comprising between 495 and 4,949 persons. These intervals are particularly representative of the aging patient population and demonstrate a degree of age and sex diversity not reflected commonly in routine laboratory reference intervals. Warehouse data also can yield other interpretative data, such as percentile ranking of results or disease-specific reference intervals. As the warehouse accumulates data from other disciplines (such as from clinical notes or pharmacy), there is increasing potential for the laboratory to enhance the clinician's ability to diagnose and treat disease.