Empty spaces in the round structures in the prostate known as prostate acini indicate the seriousness of tumors in this male gland—and are not an unwelcome and irrelevant phenomenon appearing during biopsies. The larger the hole, the greater the danger posed by the tumor according to a study by Wagner Fávaro, Athanase Billis and other researchers at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp). They examined two groups of samples: 25 men who had died without disease in the urogenital tract and 25 men who had undergone total prostate removal. The study found molecular and cellular changes associated with the formation of these structures in the Prostate (Pathology & Oncology Research, April 2012). In the same issue of the journal, researchers from the University of Zagreb, Croatia, reached the same conclusion: the phenomenon of the formation of holes in the acini can be useful in assessing the severity of tumors. Prostate cancer is diagnosed using the digital rectal exam, variations in the levels of the prostate specific antigen (PSA), and the shape, structure and number of acini, which produce secretions that help form semen.
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