Main Menu Pathology | Prostate II - [click on image(s) below] Prostatic Adenocarcinoma: General Features Most common cancer in adult men -- 2nd leading cause of cancer-related death in males Microscopic foci of cancer may begin in the 30’s, 70% of men are affected by the age of 70 3. Metastases most often occur to the bone (osteoblastic), lung, and pelvic (obturator) lymph nodes. Gross features: 80% occur in the peripheral zone, 10-20% in the transition zone; most appear yellow or gray-white Histologic features: in general, prostatic adenocarcinoma defies the rules of malignancy, in that neoplastic glands -- on the whole -- are very small, simple, and bland. Complexity in the prostate is generally a good sign, whereas small simple glands may herald cancer... helpful pointers for malignancy: blue mucin, crystalloids, prominent nucleoli, single layer of cells Gleason’s grading system is universally accepted, and outline in the photos above. Prostatic cancers receive the sum of their two most common architectural patterns -- the first number is the most prevalent pattern, the second number is the second most prevalent pattern, and the sum is the beset predictor of clinical behavior.