Background: Benign prostatic hypertrophy is the most common benign tumor in males, resulting in prostatectomy in 20–30% of men who live to the age of 80. There are no data on the association of prostatectomy with autoimmune phenomena in the English-language medical literature.
Objectives: To report our experience with three patients who developed autoimmune disease following prostatectomy.
Patients: Three patients presented with autoimmune phenomenon soon after a prostectomy for BPH[1] or prostatic carcinoma: one had clinically diagnosed temporal arteritis, one had leukocytoclastic vasculitis, and the third patient developed sensory Guillian-Barré syndrome following prostatectomy.
Conclusions: In view of the temporal association between the removal of the prostate gland and the autoimmune process, combined with previously known immunohistologic features of BPH, a cause-effect relationship probably exists.
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[1] BPH = benign prostatic hypertrophy