Role of p63 in differentiating morphologically ambiguous lesions of prostate.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the role of p63 staining in evaluation of morphologically ambiguous lesions of prostate. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive (case series) study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Lahore, from March to September 2010. METHODOLOGY: p63 immunohistochemistry staining was performed on 30 cases diagnosed as morphologically ambiguous lesions of prostate by histopathologist. Patient's name, age, histology numbers, morphological features, expression of p63 and histopathological diagnosis were recorded and described as frequency percentages. RESULTS: The prostatic adenocarcinomas were negative for p63 and benign lesions of prostate were positive for p63. Atypical lesions show positive staining in 77.7% and negative staining in 33.3% of cases. CONCLUSION: p63 immunohistochemistry staining can be used as a reliable marker to distinguish between benign from malignant morphologically ambiguous lesions of prostate.