Analysis of diagnosis and treatment of granulomatous prostatitis
10.3760/cma.j.cn112330-20250306-00078
- VernacularTitle:肉芽肿性前列腺炎诊疗分析
- Author:
Yirui WEI
1
;
Dawei XIE
1
;
Weifeng HE
1
;
Hao WANG
1
;
Pushen YANG
1
;
Jianwen WANG
1
Author Information
1. 首都医科大学附属北京朝阳医院泌尿外科，北京 100020
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Granulomatous prostatitis;
Magnetic resonance imaging;
Misdiagnosis;
Prostate cancer;
Transurethral enucleation of the prostate
- From:
Chinese Journal of Urology
2025;46(9):698-703
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To investigate the clinical diagnosis and treatment of granulomatous prostatitis（GP）in patients with Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System（PI-RADS）scores ≥ 4 on magnetic resonance imaging（MRI）.Methods:The data of 12 GP patients with PI-RADS score ≥ 4 who were admitted to Beijing Chaoyang Hospital，Capital Medical University，from February 2015 to February 2025，were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were aged 51?73 years（mean 66 years）. Presenting complaints included elevated prostate-specific antigen（PSA）levels in 6 cases，prostatic mass in 2 cases，urinary retention in 3 cases，and gross hematuria in 1 case. All 12 patients had concomitant lower urinary tract symptoms. Medical history revealed pulmonary tuberculosis in 2 cases，testicular tuberculosis in 1 case，close contact with tuberculosis in 1 case（spouse diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis 5 years earlier），allergic granulomatous vasculitis in 1 case，and intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guérin（BCG）instillation in 1 case. Digital rectal examination（DRE）showed gradeⅠprostatic hyperplasia in 2 cases，grade Ⅱ in 9 cases，and grade Ⅲ in 1 case. Nodules were palpable in 6 patients. The median PSA was 7.20 ng/ml（ranging 1.11?21.90 ng/ml），with 2 cases < 4 ng/ml. Transrectal ultrasound was performed in 10 patients，and prostate volumes were ranging from 29.48 to 109.78 cm3，with 6 cases > 45 cm3. All 12 patients underwent MRI，and all demonstrated PI-RADS scores ≥ 4，typically presenting as low signal intensity on T2-weighted imaging，high signal on diffusion-weighted imaging（DWI），and low apparent diffusion coefficient（ADC）values. Contrast-enhanced MRI in 8 cases revealed heterogeneous enhancement. One patient underwent 68Ga-prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography-computed tomography（ 68Ga-PSMA PET-CT），which showed band-like increased uptake in the central zone. All 12 patients were preoperatively suspected of prostate cancer，of whom 10 underwent transrectal biopsy and 2 underwent transperineal biopsy. Pathological characteristics and follow-up results were analyzed. Treatment outcomes were analyzed，The International Prostate Symptom Score（IPSS），quality of life（QOL）score，maximum urinary flow rate（Q max），and post-void residual urine（PVR）volume were compared before and 1 month after treatment. Results:Histopathology confirmed GP in all cases，with chronic inflammation in 11 cases and acute inflammation in 1 case. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated positivity for CD68（macrophage marker），high-molecular weight cytokeratin（HCK），and reticulin staining；periodic acid-Schiff（PAS）and acid-fast staining were positive in 2 cases，corresponding to 1 patient with a prior history of pulmonary tuberculosis and 1 with testicular tuberculosis. Two patients underwent thulium laser enucleation of the prostate，while 10 received conservative treatment，including 2 patients with tuberculosis infection who were referred for anti-tuberculosis therapy and 8 patients treated with oral tamsulosin 0.2 mg once daily. Follow-up was completed in 10 patients：9 were followed for 1 ? 3 months（mean 2.4 months），and 1 patient was followed for 9 years before being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Two additional patients，whose pathological findings suggested a possible diagnosis of tuberculous granulomatous prostatitis，were advised to undergo anti-tuberculosis treatment at another hospital and were subsequently lost to follow-up. Among the 2 patients who underwent thulium laser enucleation，IPSS decreased from 26 and 25 to 6 and 5 respectively，QOL scores decreased from 6 and 5 to 1 and 0 respectively，Q max increased from 4.5 and 4.3 ml/s to 23.0 and 21.9 ml/s respectively. In the 8 patients treated conservatively，IPSS decreased from 18.45±7.17 to 14.45±5.03，and QOL score decreased from 5.09±1.04 to 4.09±0.70 at 1 month after treatment，showing significant improvement（ P < 0.05）. Additionally，one patient initially diagnosed with GP and managed conservatively remained stable for 9 years，but subsequently developed urinary retention and underwent thulium laser enucleation，with postoperative pathology confirming prostate cancer. Conclusions:Clinical manifestations of GP are nonspecific，and the condition can easily be mistaken for prostate cancer due to elevated PSA levels and PI-RADS scores ≥4. Some patients may present with acute urinary retention，but definitive diagnosis still relies on prostate biopsy and immunohistochemistry. Treatment should be individualized according to the underlying etiology，with medication as the mainstay，while transurethral surgical intervention may be considered in cases with obstruction. Although GP is a benign lesion，its potential association with prostate cancer warrants vigilance and emphasizes the importance of long-term follow-up.
