Testicular morphology and germ cell DNA synthesis in the testis of patients with prostatic carcinoma

✍ Scribed by Moshe Markewitz; Ralph J. Veenema; Bruno Fingerhut; Erol Gursel

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1971
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 692 KB
• Volume: 27
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0008-543X
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-0142(197104)27:4<919::aid-cncr2820270424>3.0.co;2-3

✦ Synopsis

Testes of 175 patients with histologically proved carcinoma of the prostate were biopsied and processed for conventional as well as radioautographic study. Satisfactory spermatogenesis was preserved in 4 0 4 5 % of the biopsied testis. I n 35-40%, spermatogenesis was active, but there was clear evidence of depletion in the maturation process. T h e remaining 20-25% showed atrophy and hyalinization. Radioautographic study revealed that the number of DNA-synthesizing spermatogonia per cross-sectioned tubule was reduced from what was previously observed in the healthy adult male. No correlation could he found between testicular morphology, DNA synthesis of the germ cells, serum testosterone levels, and total urinary gonadotropins. I t appears that the pituitarygonadal axis i n the prostatic carcinoma patient is altered. This alteration, however, is not clearly delineated by the laboratory methods presently available.

ILATERAL ORCHIECTOMY TO REMOVE THE

B stimulating effects of testosterone in prostatic carcinoma is an accepted method for palliative treatment of prostatic carcinoma. Although the stimulation of the testis by the anterior pituitary gland hormones (FSH and ICSH) to maintain normal testicular function has been studied in the normal male,10 little information is available regarding the testis in prostatic carcinoma patients.

In the normal mature human testis, the presence of normal spermatogenesis, healthy appearing Leydig cells, and the absence of tubular wall thickening is considered an indication of an intact or properly functioning pituitary-gonadal axis. In patients with proven prostatic carcinoma, we studied the testes by conventional histologic as well as by radioautographic methods in an effort to gain additional information