Carey Z. August

Granulosa cell tumor of the adult testis: Ultrastructural and ultrasonographic characteristics

We report a case of a granulosa cell tumor of the testis. The ultrastructural characteristics of this rare tumor were compared to its homologue in the ovary and they were similar.

Neoplasms of endometrial stroma: Histopathologic and flow cytometric analysis with clinical correlation

Ten neoplasms of endometrial stroma (one stromal nodule, four endolymphatic stromal myoses, and five stromal sarcomas) were compared using clinical data as well as histopathologic and flow cytometric parameters. None of the patients with stromal nodules or endolymphatic stromal myosis had extrauterine disease at presentation or tumors displaying a mitotic rate greater than 10/10 hpf (high-power fields), nuclear pleomorphism, atypical mitotic figures, DNA aneuploidy, or a high proliferative index (greater than 10% S phase cells). The stromal nodules were circumscribed and behaved in a benign fashion. The patients with endolymphatic stromal myosis had infiltrative tumors that behaved as low-grade cancers with good responses to therapy. Four of the five patients with stromal sarcoma had extrauterine disease at presentation as well as tumors characterized by a mitotic rate much greater than 10 mitoses/10 hpf, nuclear pleomorphism, atypical mitotic figures, DNA aneuploidy, and a high proliferative index. These four patients had aggressive disease with poor response to therapy. The fifth of the stromal sarcomas had a high mitotic rate, but lacked the other features linked with aggressive behavior; this patient has responded well to treatment. The mitotic count may not be the most useful criterion for predicting biologic behavior in endometrial stromal tumors since it does not always reflect an increased rate of cell turnover as demonstrated by the percentage of cells in the S phase. DNA analysis by flow cytometry yields a more accurate picture of tumor behavior.

Monoclonal Antibody 44–3A6 as a Marker for Breast Carcinoma

The monoclonal antibody (MAb) 44-3A6 detects a 40-kD cell surface protein on adenocarcinomas and may serve as an effective marker for glandular differentiation. Immunohistochemical analysis of 123 paraffin-embedded malignant breast tissue specimens, 27 normal or benign breast disease specimens and 10 atypical hyperplasia specimens from patients without breast cancer was performed with MAb 44-3A6. The antigen was identified in 76% of breast cancer specimens, 0% of normal or benign breast disease specimens and 88% of the atypical hyperplasia specimens. MAb 44-3A6 also detected this antigen on adjacent normal breast ductal cells in 88% of the breast cancer specimens. There was no statistically significant correlation between immunoreactivity and histological mitotic or nuclear grade, recurrence or overall survival. This study suggests that the cell surface antigen detected by the MAb 44-3A6 may serve as an important marker in the differentiation of normal breast epithelium into an atypical or malignant lesion.