1. ¹Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, USA
2. ²Department of Urology, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, USA
3. ³Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, USA

Correspondence: Dr JI Epstein, MD, Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, 401 N. Broadway Street, Room 2242, Weinberg Building, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA. E-mail: jepstein@jhmi.edu

Received 1 May 2006; Revised 7 July 2006; Accepted 25 July 2006.

Abstract

Prostatic spindle cell lesions are diagnostically challenging and encompass a broad array of benign and malignant processes. A subset of these lesions arises only within the prostate and generally represents entities that originate from the prostate epithelium or stroma, such as sclerosing adenosis, sarcomatoid carcinoma, stromal tumors of uncertain malignant potential (STUMP), and stromal sarcoma. Another subset of spindle cell tumors that involve the prostate are also found at other sites and include solitary fibrous tumor, leiomyosarcoma, and neural lesions among others. Finally, tumors may secondarily involve the prostate yet present as primary prostatic processes, as is evident with several cases of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). The utility of ancillary studies, including immunohistochemistry, is often limited and the main criteria for diagnosis are the morphologic findings by routine H&E stain. This review addresses the various entities that may present as spindle cell tumors within the adult prostate and discusses the functional aspects of the differential diagnosis of these lesions.