Pathology of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Insight into etiology.

Morphometric studies of prostates with benign hyperplasia (BPH) have revealed features that may help clarify the disease's natural history and biologic behavior. Hyperplasia arises within a small anatomic region having precise boundaries and containing an unusual juxtaposition of glandular and stromal elements. Diffuse non-nodular enlargement of the transition zone is the commonest morphologic feature of BPH, but nodules show a greater potential for growth and comprise most of the tissue in large (more than 50-gm) resection specimens. Most nodules are predominantly glandular, with features that suggest a pathogenetic role of induction of embryonic-type stroma.