atypical small acinar proliferation: utility of additional sections and immunohistochemical analysis of prostatic needle biopsies

background in surgical pathology, atypical small acinar proliferation is commonly detected in prostate biopsies. most studies on atypical small acinar proliferation have examined morphological characteristics and the utility of immunohistochemical studies.however, these resources are not available to many pathology departments. we have found that examining additional sections is a simple and inexpensive method that allows better evaluation of focal prostatic glandular atypia. objectives the present report compares the diagnostic utility of immunohistochemical techniques versus examining additional sections in prostate biopsies with focal glandular atypia. patients and methods thirty recently studied prostate biopsies with focal glandular atypia were selected. in each case, 3 additional levels were examined. an immunohistochemical study was performed on one level using an antibody against high-molecular-weight keratin (34betae12). two additional sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. results the diagnosis of focal carcinoma was established with only additional sections in 4 cases (13.3%). in 2 of these biopsies, additional areas of carcinoma were found that were not identified in the original sections. in 4 other cases, immunohistochemical analysis was the only useful method for diagnosing cancer. in 9 cases (30%), both methods were useful for classifying focal glandular atypia as carcinoma. in the remaining 13 cases,neither immunohistochemical analysis nor additional sections were useful in changing the diagnosis of focal glandular atypia. conclusions focal glandular atypia in prostatic needle biopsies should be routinely examined with additional sections, particularly when immunohistochemical analysis is not possible. some biopsies with atypical glandular proliferation may show focal carcinoma in additional sections, even if the immunohistochemical analysis did not provide a diagnosis of malignancy. additional sections can also reveal areas of carcinoma that were not apparent in the original sections.