Issues to consider:
(1) prostate tissue present
(2) amount of material available
(3) fixation
(4) processing
(5) staining
(6) sectioning
(7) coverslipping
where:
• Improperly fixed or processed tissue will show a number of artifacts.
• Improperly stained sections will show abnormal coloration of the histologic elements.
• Improperly cut sections may show knife marks, chatter or other artifacts.
• Improperly coverslipped sections may show air bubbles, mounting media or clouding of the mounting media, any of which may obscure histologic detail.
Each must be considered adequate if the histologic diagnosis is to be reliable. A failure at any level will compromise the examination. An inadequate preparation may need to be repeated or even recollected.
The definition of sufficient material will vary.
(1) Both the left and right lobes must be considered.
(2) For the diagnosis of limited cancer Epstein (1995) requires a minimum of 3 cores.
(3) The total length of the cores is another parameter to consider.
One approach might be:
|
Number of Cores >= 0.5 cm
|
Total Length
|
Interpretation
|
|
1 or 2
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< 1 cm
|
very limited
|
|
1 or 2
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1 - 3 cm
|
limited sampling
|
|
3 or more
|
>= 3 cm
|
adequate
|
|
9 or more
|
>= 9 cm
|
excellent
|
