Immunohistochemical study of androgen receptor in benign hyperplastic and cancerous human prostates.

Androgen receptor was detected immunohistochemically in benign as well as malignant prostatic tissues by using a monoclonal rat anti-human androgen receptor antibody (AN 1-15). In both benign and malignant cells, the androgen receptor was exclusively localized in nuclei. In hyperplastic prostate, the androgen receptor was stained in the glandular and the stromal cells. In the gland, cells facing the lumen were stained more intensively than those adjacent to the basal membrane. In cancer tissue, receptor-positive and -negative cancer cells were intermingled. The percent of strongly positive cancer cells was correlated inversely with grade. Relapsed cells showed a low population of strongly positive cells irrespective of grade.