BACKGROUNDBoth benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and primary hypertension are common in the elderly men. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible effect of primary hypertension on the hematuria in patients with BPH.

METHODSAll patients who underwent transurethral resection of prostate or opening operation had confirmed diagnoses of BPH histologically. comparative analysis of packet was used to analyze the incidence of hematuria in 423 BPH patients with or without hypertension. Immunostaining of CD34 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was carried out in tissues of 50 cases of simple BPH and 50 cases of BPH accompanied with hypertension.

RESULTSThe incidence of hematuria in the BPH with hypertension was significantly higher than that in the simple BPH (P < 0.01). Furthermore, the incidence of hematuria in patients who had hypertension for more than 10 years was clearly higher than that in the patients who had hypertension for less than 10 years (P < 0.01). Both microvessel density (MVD) based on CD34 immunostaining and VEGF expression were significantly higher in the BPH tissues of patients with hypertension than that in the simple BPH (P < 0.01, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSLong-term hypertension may significantly increase the incidence of hematuria in patients with both BPH and hypertension. Increased MVD level and VEGF expression may account for the higher incidence of hematuria in these patients.