Interpathologist concordance in the histological diagnosis of focal prostatic atrophy lesions, acute and chronic prostatitis, PIN, and prostate cancer

Epidemiological and biological evidence indicates a causal relationship between the presence of proliferative atrophic lesions and the development of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) and prostate cancer. The presence of inflammatory and atrophic lesions of the prostate is widely underestimated and they are not generally mentioned in pathology reports. We performed a histopathological concordance study among eight genitourinary specialists and seven generalist pathologists, using 116 histological slides of prostate lesions, including proliferative atrophic lesions, PIN, and cancer. The overall agreement between all possible pairs of reviewers was 80% for prostate cancer, 67% for PIN, and 49% for proliferative atrophic lesions. When using as gold standard the assessment of a single genitourinary pathologist, the mean agreement percentage increased to 97% for prostate cancer, 92% for PIN, and 72% for proliferative atrophic lesions.

Virchows Archiv : an international journal of pathology. 2017 Apr 12 [Epub ahead of print]

Francesca Giunchi, Kristina Jordahl, Enrico Bollito, Maurizio Colecchia, Carlo Patriarca, Antonietta D'Errico, Francesco Vasuri, Deborah Malvi, Alessandro Fornari, Luca Reggiani Bonetti, Barbara Corti, Mauro Papotti, Paolo DeGiuli, Massimo Loda, Rodolfo Montironi, Michelangelo Fiorentino, Jennifer R Rider

Pathology Department, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, University of Bologna, Viale Ercolani 4/2, 40138, Bologna, Italy., Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, 677 Avenue, Huntington, MA, 02115, USA., Department of Oncology, Division of Pathology, San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, Orbassano, area, Regione Gonzole, 10, 10043, Turin, Italy., Pathology Department, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Via Giacomo Venezian 1, 20133, Milan, Italy., Pathology Department, St Anna Hospital, Via Ravona, 20, 22020, Como, Italy., Pathology Department, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Università, 4, 41121, Modena, Italy., Department of Oncology and Pathology, University of Turin, Via Giuseppe Verdi, 8, 10124, Turin, Italy., Pathology Department, S. Lazzaro Hospital, Via Pietrino Belli, 26, 12051, Alba, Italy., Medical Oncology Department, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 450 Brookline Ave, Boston, MA, 02215, USA., Pathology Department, School of Medicine, United Hospitals, Polytechnic University of the Marche Region, via Conca 71, 60126, Ancona, Italy., Pathology Department, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, University of Bologna, Viale Ercolani 4/2, 40138, Bologna, Italy. .