Prostatic stromal sarcoma: review and update

It has been iterated that the prostate stromal neoplasm originates from mesenchymal components of the prostate gland. Prostatic stromal sarcoma in human beings in 1998, was first classified into 2 types by Gaudin and associates including prostatic stromal sarcoma (PSS) and stromal tumours of uncertain malignancy potential. It has been suggested that PSS was especially rare which only accounts for less than 0.1% of primary prostate malignancies in adults. A number of authors had reported that the common manifestation of PSS was urinary retention and the serum prostatic-specific antigen (PSA) level had often remained within normal range. Nevertheless, with the low incidence of prostatic stromal sarcoma that had been reported, clinical information related to the rare neoplasm has remained not clear. Primary prostate sarcomas are rare, with one study estimating it to comprise of just 0.7% of prostatic malignancies. Prostatic stromal sarcoma typically emanates from specialized hormone-dependant mesenchymal cells of the prostatic stroma. A diverse histopathology pattern of prostatic stromal sarcoma in human beings had been reported in the literature as case reports or few case series, often closely related to stromal tumours of uncertain malignant potential (STUMP). In view of the rarity of the neoplasm, it would be envisaged that majority of clinicians all over the world would not have encountered a case of prostatic stromal sarcoma before. In order to provide updated information of primary prostatic sarcoma of the prostate gland afflicting human beings, it is important for all clinicians who encounter cases of primary prostatic sarcoma to report their cases with long-term follow-up outcome results so that new lessons would be learnt about the tumour.