Nuclear androgen receptors of human prostatic tissue--a quantitative histological study.

The objective of this study was to determine the nuclear dihydrotestosterone (DHT) nuclear receptors content in tissues of normal prostate, benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), and prostatic cancer. We also attempted to correlate this with the histological pattern of these tissues. Specimens were obtained from five normal subjects, 24 BPH, and 19 prostatic cancer patients. Nuclear receptors content was determined. All histological sections were reviewed by three independent pathologists. The criteria for the quantitative analysis were the degree of cellularity and the stromal content. The mean receptor content was not significantly different between neoplastic tissue (52.6 fmol/mg protein) and hyperplastic tissue (38.9 fmol/mg protein). The number of binding sites in normal prostatic tissue was 8.5 fmol/mg protein. The correlation between the degree of cellularity and DHT receptors showed no significant difference for both BPH, as well as prostatic cancer. Similar results were obtained when stromal content was compared.