Isolated Idiopathic Granulomatous (Giant Cell) Vasculitis of the Prostate

Abstract

Vasculitis involving the prostate is uncommon and usually reflects systemic disease. Isolated prostatic vasculitis is very rare. Most of these cases are morphologically categorized as polyarteritis nodosa. We describe a 72-year-old man with idiopathic granulomatous vasculitis limited to the prostate. The vasculitis was identified incidentally upon microscopic examination of the suprapubic prostatectomy specimen removed for nodular hyperplasia. The transmural inflammation was centered on muscular arteries and veins and it was accompanied by narrowing of the lumen. Vasculitis was not associated with any secondary changes such as infarct or postinfarct fibrosis. Immunophenotyping of the vascular inflammatory infiltrate disclosed abundant macrophages and T-lymphocytes and virtual absence of B-lymphocytes. The patient is alive and well on no treatment for a follow-up period of 14 months. To our knowledge this is the second case report of prostatic involvement in localized idiopathic granulomatous vasculitis. It is important to distinguish cases of isolated granulomatous vasculitis in the prostate from systemic disease, because the latter implies a poor prognosis and requires an aggressive treatment.