Small cell carcinoma of the prostate. A case report.

A case of small cell carcinoma of the prostate reported here was studied by immunohistochemical and electron microscopic procedures. Most tumour cells were positive for argyrophil (Grimelius) stain and had dense core neurosecretory granules in the cytoplasm. But immunohistochemical staining revealed vasoactive intestinal polypeptide and calcitonin only in a few cells, and it was still obscure what kinds of hormones were produced in this tumour. By dot blot hybridization, our case showed no amplification of myc family gene which is suggested to be associated with a poor clinical outcome in pulmonary small cell carcinoma.