Lactoferrin in benign hypertrophy and carcinomas of the prostatic gland.

Using immunoperoxidase procedures, the presence of lactoferrin was investigated in benign hypertrophy (40 cases), differentiated adenocarcinomas (20 cases) and undifferentiated carcinomas (10 cases) of the prostate. In benign hypertrophy, the glandular epithelium and the secretory product were consistently negative. Strong staining for lactoferrin was always observed in neoplastic cells of differentiated adenocarcinomas and in their endoluminal material; in contrast, a very slight positivity was noted in undifferentiated carcinomas. These findings are discussed in relation to the different degree of neoplastic glandular differentiation and functional activity of prostatic carcinomas.