Intraprostatic and subcutaneous transplantation of a spontaneous prostatic carcinoma (11095) to male Fischer rats (F344): an ultrastructural study.

A prostate carcinoma arising spontaneously in a Fischer rat was transplanted by cell suspension to male and female Fischer rats. Tumour growth was rapid in both subcutaneous and intraprostatic sites of inoculation in males and subcutaneously in females. The growth rate was greater in male than in female hosts and the tumour developed as a solid form in both groups. It had a heterogeneous cell population with ultrastructural characteristics similar to basal cells of the normal prostate and to tumour cells seen in human prostate adenocarcinoma. Later stages of tumour growth transformed it to a cornifying squamous cell carcinoma. The morphological description of tumours produced by transplantation provides the basis for further studies using this method as a model for investigating the response of prostate carcinoma to endocrine manipulation.