Correlation of histochemical and biochemical analyses of androgen binding in prostatic cancer: relation to therapeutic response.

A histochemical technique for the detection of androgen binding in prostatic cancer was performed on specimens from 108 patients and compared with a biochemical method in a double blind study of 77. Statistical analyses showed a significant agreement between the two assay systems for the qualitative and quantitative presence or absence of specific androgen binding, as well as for the subcellular localization of binding in nucleus and/or cytoplasm. Although the number of cases studied was too small for statistical analysis, there appeared to be good correlation between histochemical androgen binding results and clinical response, or lack of response to hormonal manipulation in 20 patients with State C and Stage D carcinoma. No correlation was evident between androgen binding and tumor grade or clinicopathologic stage of disease of either histochemistry or biochemistry.