Consortum between mast cell and prostatic lesions-An etiological factor or mere coexistence

Introduction: Prostate cancer exhibits a complex genetic and heterogeneous histological pattern reflecting its multifactorial phenotype. Mast cells mainly known for their role in allergy and anaphylaxis, now regarded as key factor cell in angiogenesis, tissue remodeling and repair, whereas their importance in tumor pathology as either cancer promoter or inhibitor is still debated. Materials and Methods: Study included 100 cases of prostatic lesions with 74 cases of benign prostatic lesions and 26 cases of adenocarcinoma prostate, received in the form of transurethral resection of prostate chips for histopathological examination. The tissues were routinely processed, the paraffin sections stained by hematoxylin and eosin and 1% toluidine blue. Histological diagnosis was made. Mast cell count was done taking a standard of 10 high power fields(x40) and mean were calculated. Distributions of mast cells were noted in stroma, perivascular, periglandular and intraglandular regions. Results: Mast cell count was significantly higher in benign prostatic hyperplasia with mean of 3.6 per high power field whereas absence or low count was found in adenocarcinoma prostate with mean of 1.7 per high power field. Mast cells were located predominantly in stromal region in both BPH and adenocarcinoma prostate; in rest of the areas the numbers were comparable. Conclusion: In this study we observed significant increase in mast cell count in stroma of BPH compared to adenocarcinoma indicating that mast cell density is inversely proportional to malignancy. This suggests high mast cell count favors the prognosis. Keywords: Mast cells, Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, Adenocarcinoma.