Crystalloids in latent prostatic carcinoma.

Intraglandular crystalloids have been studied in 108 cases of latent prostatic carcinoma collected at autopsy. The morphological features of these crystalloids are essentially the same as reported by previous authors. The crystalloids were identified in 62.0% of cases over age 50 years. They were present in 76.9% of cases in the seventh decade, the highest prevalence among the decades. The number of crystalloids relative to the number of malignant glands tended to be inversely proportional to the size of the carcinoma. We conclude that crystalloids are related to the early development of prostatic carcinoma.