Recent studies and a few reviews suggest that presence of invasive cribriform lesions (ICLs) in prostatic acinar adenocarcinoma correlates with adverse outcomes. However, a systematic review with meta-analysis on this correlation is currently lacking.
To compare the likelihood of adverse outcomes by the status of ICLs in prostatic acinar adenocarcinoma with the meta-analysis of high-quality published data and institutional experience.
PubMed, Scopus, manually searched references, and institutional data.
Observational retrospective case-control studies or prospective cohort studies of adverse outcomes stratified by the status of ICLs were selected.
Study quality was analyzed. The prevalence of adverse outcomes stratified by the status of ICLs was extracted.
Eighty-five cases were reviewed. Extraprostatic extension, seminal vesicle invasion, and regional lymph node metastasis were observed in 18 (45%), 14 (35%), and 7 (17.5%) of the 40 cases with cribriform lesions, respectively. These features were observed in 4 (8.9%), 1 (2.2%), and 0 (0%) of the 45 cases without ICLs. During the follow-up, biochemical prostate-specific antigen recurrence, local recurrence, and metastasis/disease-specific death were documented in 7 (17.5%), 2 (5%), and 2 (5%) of the 40 cases with ICLs. These poor outcomes were found in 6 (13.3%), 1 (2.2%), and 1 (2.2%) of the 45 cases without ICLs. Meta-analysis revealed a significant increase in the risk of adverse outcomes in patients who had ICLs relative to those who did not (odds ratio, 3.95; 95% CI, 2.61-5.97; = 53%; = 6.52; < .01). These results suggest that presence of ICLs is associated with adverse outcomes.