Latent prostatic cancer in a consecutive autopsy series.

In a consecutive series of autopsies, 223 prostates were removed. Latent prostatic cancer (LPC) was found in 50 cases (22%). All the tumours were adenocarcinomas. The frequency increased with age. No conclusive evidence was found of a relationship between prostatic hyperplasia and LPC. The extent of the tumour seemed to have greater prognostic significance than the degree of differentiation.