A study of transrectal aspiration biopsies of the prostate, with particular regard to prognostic evaluation.

We studied 182 transrectal aspiration biopsies of the prostate primarily to evaluate the reliability of cytologic grading as a method to determine the biological malignancy of prostatic cancer. The technique and cytologic grading are described in detail. All patients with clinical cancer of the prostate were assessed as to whether the disease was stable or progressive. A comparison was made between the clinical assessment and the cytologic grading of the prostatic material. The results show that the patients whose disease was assessed as stable tended to have a high cytologic grade and those assessed as progressive had a low cytologic grade. The importance of this method as a possible prognostic indicator is emphasized.