Pascale Levine

Extrauterine low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma with florid endometrioid glandular differentiation.

Endometrial stromal sarcoma of the uterus (ESS) is a rare lesion that can cause diagnostic difficulty especially when it presents with unusual histologic features such as diffuse endometrioid glandular differentiation. Only three such cases have been reported, all primary in the uterus. We report the first case of an extrauterine low-grade ESS with extensive glandular differentiation that appeared to arise in endometriosis.

Spectrum of head and neck lesions diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration cytology in the pediatric population

Fine‐needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of the head and neck region is well accepted as a diagnostic procedure in the adult population. FNAC in the pediatric population is gaining acceptance as clinicians add this technique to the diagnostic armamentarium. An experience with FNAC of the head and neck region in the pediatric population is described from 2 large inner‐city hospitals. Eighty‐five cases were retrieved from patients age <18 years. In 52 cases, clinical or surgical follow‐up was obtained and among these cases the specificity and sensitivity of FNA was 93% and 100%, respectively. The high specificity of FNAC allows the clinician to be confident of malignancy in a clinically suspicious lesion of the head and neck in a pediatric patient. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol) 2007.

Rhabdoid Epithelioid Leiomyosarcoma of the Uterine Corpus A Case Report and Literature Review

A case of epithelioid leiomyosarcoma of the uterus with rhabdoid phenotype and early rhabdomyoblastic differentiation is described. A 72-year-old woman with a 5eek history of increased abdominal girth was found to have a large pelvic mass. The uterus revealed a large intramyometrial and left adnexal necrotic tumor that had spread to the small bowel mesentery and to the anterior abdominal peritoneum. The tumor was an epithelioid leiomyosarcoma with rhabdoid phenotype and focal early rhabdomyoblastic differentiation, as confirmed by immunohistochemical and ultratructural techniques. Also called composite extrarenal rhabdoid tumor (CERT), this lesion should be differentiated from malignant mixed mullerian tumor, rhabomyosarcoma, endometrial stromal sarcoma, and pure rhabdoid tumors of the uterus. The recognition of a rhabdoid phenotype is of clinical importance since these tumors are prone to be aggressive.

MIB1 as a possible predictor of recurrence in low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma of the uterus

OBJECTIVE Immunohistochemical analysis of MIB1, p53, estrogen, and progesterone receptors can provide prognostic information in endometrial adenocarcinoma. Since predictors of recurrence for low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma (LESS) are still unknown, a battery of immunostains was performed to find markers, which might be useful to predict prognosis. METHODS Eleven patients with an average age of 43.8 years (range 27-76) were identified with stage I LESS. Immunostains, including MIB1, p53, ER, and PR, were evaluated by two pathologists, independently. RESULTS All tumors were positive for ER and PR; 1/11 was positive for p53; MIB1 ranged from 0 to 20% positive tumor nuclei. Mitotic counts ranged from 0 to 7/10 hpf. Two patients developed recurrences. One had a pelvic recurrence 7 years after diagnosis. This tumor had a mitotic count of 1/10 hpf, MIB1 expression in 10% of nuclei, and focal p53 expression. A second patient developed pulmonary metastases 10.8 years after diagnosis; the tumor showed a mitotic count of 7/10 hpf and MIB1 expression in 20% of nuclei, but was negative for p53. There was a significant difference in MIB1 reactivity scores between patients who did or did not develop recurrence (P = 0.0303). A marginally significant association was detected between MIB1 (P = 0.0896) or p53 (P = 0.0833) positivity and length of recurrence-free survival. CONCLUSION Although MIB1 and p53 appear to be useful prognostic markers, a larger study would be necessary to confirm their validity.

Management issues in breast lesions diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration and percutaneous core breast biopsy.

The use offine-needle aspiration biopsy or percutaneous core needle biopsy to diagnose breast lesions has increased during the past few decades. Although the benefits of these procedures are well known, controversies remain about the management of certain categories of breast lesions detected by these methods. This article discusses the management issues in categories of breast lesions, including papillary lesions, atypical lobular hyperplasia and lobular carcinoma in situ, and mucinous lesions diagnosed by the preoperative techniques of aspiration or core biopsy.

Nonimage-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy of palpable axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer patients.

Synopsis  We report the utility of office‐based, nonimaged guided fine needle aspiration of palpable axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer patients. We examine the sensitivity and specificity of this procedure, and examine factors associated with a positive fine needle aspiration biopsy result.

Detection of medullary thyroid microcarcinoma using ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration cytology.

G. C. H. Yang, K. Fried and P. H. Levine

Diagnosis of myeloid sarcoma involving salivary glands by fine-needle aspiration cytology and flow cytometry: report of four cases.

Myeloid sarcoma involving salivary glands is extremely rare. Here, we report four cases of this rare occurrance, diagnosed by fine‐needle aspiration biopsy. All of four patients had previous diagnoses of myeloid neoplasms. They presented with a solitary mass in the parotid or submandibular salivary gland. The cytological evaluation of the aspirates revealed scattered salivary gland acini admixed with dispersed atypical cells. In three cases, the atypical cells appeared to be heterogenous, intermediate to large in size, and have folded nuclei with fine chromatin. In another case the atypical cells were monotonous and had round nuclei with fine chromatin. The myeloid lineage of the atypical cells was demonstrated by flow cytometric analysis. High clinical suspicion, careful cytological evaluation, and concurrent ancillary studies are essential for establishing a diagnosis of myeloid sarcoma. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2008;36:124–127.

Encapsulated Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma Transformed from Follicular Carcinoma: A Case Report

BACKGROUND Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is rare but is one of the most aggressive and lethal human malignancies. Cytologically, ATC has a variable morphologic appearance, including squamoid, giant, spindled and pleomorphic cells. The coexistence of ATC and differentiated or poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma has been described and usually is diagnosed when the disease is locally advanced. CASE We describe a case of surgically resectable, encapsulated, well-circumscribed ATC occurring in association with a better differentiated follicular carcinoma diagnosed by fine needle aspiration in a patient exposed to external ionizing radiation. CONCLUSION Encapsulated variants of anaplastic carcinoma can be seen in association with lower grade thyroid carcinoma such as follicular carcinoma. Accurate diagnosis is dependent on adequate sampling.

Distinguishing parathyroid and thyroid lesions on ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration: A correlation of clinical data, ancillary studies, and molecular analysis

Differentiating parathyroid and thyroid lesions can be challenging because of considerable morphologic overlap and anatomic proximity. Therefore, the authors sought to identify characteristic morphologic patterns and useful adjunct tests to distinguish these 2 entities.