Prostate glandular tissue discovered in women

Half of all women have a kind of prostate

08/08/2011

Researchers at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Vienna conclude in a recent study that women also have a type of prostate. Around 50 percent of the women had tissue as part of their investigations, report Wolf Dietrich from the University Hospital and colleagues.

While the function of the prostate has been extensively studied in man, the function of the prostate-like tissue in the female body remains unclear, the researchers in Vienna write in the current issue of the journal „Journal of Sexual Medicine“. Currently going to „the composition of glands around the female ureters - especially as regards the degree of their correspondence to the male prostate“ still hotly debated, report Wolf Dietrich and colleagues. It is clear, however, that in women - although very rarely - can arise from the corresponding tissue carcinomas, which the scientists as „female prostate cancer“ were designated.

Fifty percent of women have prostate glandular tissue
In their study, the Viennese researchers examined the ureters and the surrounding tissue of 25 patients and demonstrated the typical tissue characteristics of the male prostate gland in 14 tissue samples. In the course of the laboratory investigations, the Viennese researchers were able to detect prostate-specific antigens (PSA), prostate-specific alkaline phosphatase (an enzyme) and androgen receptors in the patient's tissue. The PSA examination of the blood is used in men also the diagnosis of possible prostate cancer, but is relatively inaccurate. In women lay „so far only a few pointers to prostate-specific antigen“ before and the results were „not reproducible“, reports Wolf Dietrich. However, in the course of their study, the Viennese researchers had succeeded in proving corresponding tissue characteristics in 50 percent of the subjects. Malignant tumors from this tissue are therefore, according to Dietrich as „female prostate cancer“ to understand.

Carcinomas in the prostate gland tissue in women rather rare
Overall, the carcinomas in the prostate-like glandular tissue around the ureter in women are extremely rare, but in principle, given the current study results for them, the risk of a corresponding cancer disease is given. According to the researchers, women are likely to have the same gland-developmental machinery as men at the beginning of embryonic development, and the differential expression is associated with later development. In men, a correspondingly more extensive development of the prostate is required, as this takes over the production of a secretion, which is ejected during ejaculation and increases the chances of survival of the sperm in the vagina, the researchers report. In the female, however, so far no function of prostate-like glandular tissue around the ureter known. However, this could only be of secondary importance, since only half of the women have appropriate tissue, explained Dietrich and colleagues.

Screening reduces the risk of fatal cancers
While women are less likely to suffer from carcinoma of the prostate gland tissue, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men in Germany. According to the RKI, around 10 percent of cancer-related deaths among men per year in Germany are due to prostate cancer, making it the third most common lethal cancer in men after lung and colorectal cancer. According to the figures of the RKI, approximately 22 percent of newly diagnosed cancer cases diagnosed annually in Germany affect the prostate gland, with the risk of disease increasing significantly with increasing age. Since there is a good chance of a cure if the prostate cancer is detected before the stage of metastasis, an early diagnosis is of corresponding importance. Screening can significantly reduce the risk of fatal disease progression. Since in the current study also in women corresponding tissue was discovered and the formation of „female prostate cancer“ can not be ruled out, similar check-ups may well be an option for women in the future to reduce the health risk. (Fp)

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Image: Martin Gapa