Background Loss of mismatch repair (MMR) occurs frequently in endometrial carcinoma (EC) and is an important prognostic marker. However, the frequency of MMR deficiency (D-MMR) in EC remains inconclusive. This systematic review and meta-analysis addressed this inconsistency and evaluated related clinicopathology.
Methods Electronic databases were searched for articles: PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, EMBASE, and the Wiley Online Library. Data were extracted from 25 EC studies of D-MMR to generate a clinical dataset of 7,459 patients. A random-effects model produced pooled estimates of D-MMR EC frequency with 95% confidence interval (CI) for meta-analysis.
Results The overall pooled proportion of D-MMR was 24.477% (95% CI, 21.022 to 28.106) in EC. The Lynch syndrome subgroup had 22.907% pooled D-MMR (95% CI, 14.852 to 32.116). D-MMR was highest in type I EC (25.810) (95% CI, 22.503 to 29.261) compared to type II (13.736) (95% CI, 8.392 to 20.144). Pooled D-MMR was highest at EC stage and grades I–II (79.430% and 65.718%, respectively) and lowest in stages III–IV and grade III (20.168% and 21.529%). The pooled odd ratios comparing D-MMR to proficient MMR favored low-stage EC disease (1.565; 0.894 to 2.740), lymphovascular invasion (1.765; 1.293 to 2.409), and myometrial invasion >50% (1.271; 0.871 to 1.853).
Conclusions Almost one-quarter of EC patients present with D-MMR tumors. The majority has less aggressive endometrioid histology. D-MMR presents at lower tumor stages compared to MMR-proficient cases in EC. However other metastatic parameters are comparatively higher in the D-MMR disease setting.
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Methods Three pathologists reviewed 21 surgically resected cases of advancedstage endometrial carcinoma. The primary diagnosis was based only on hematoxylin and eosin stained slides. When a discrepancy arose, a secondary diagnosis was made by additional review of immunohistochemical (IHC) stains. Finally, three pathologists discussed all cases and rendered a consensus diagnosis.
Results The primary diagnoses were identical in 13/21 cases (62%). The secondary diagnosis based on the addition of IHC results was concordant in four of eight discrepant cases. Among four cases with discrepancies occurring in this step, two cases subsequently reached a consensus diagnosis after a thorough discussion between three reviewers. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) study was performed in two cases in which it was difficult to distinguish between serous carcinoma and endometrioid carcinoma. Based on the sequencing results, a final diagnosis of serous carcinoma was rendered. The overall kappa for concordance between the original and consensus diagnosis was 0.566 (moderate agreement).
Conclusions We investigated stepwise changes in interobserver diagnostic reproducibility in advanced-stage endometrial carcinoma. We demonstrated the utility of IHC and NGS study results in the histopathological diagnosis of advanced-stage endometrial carcinoma.
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Background Endometrial carcinoma (EC) is classified into four distinct molecular subgroups including ultramutated DNA polymerase epsilon (POLE). POLE-mutated tumors have the best prognosis and are a promising target for immunotherapy. This meta-analysis consolidated the reported variation of POLE-mutant frequency and assessed prognostic value in EC.
Methods Internet searches explored scientific data bases: EMBASE, PubMed, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases. Data was extracted from eligible studies including: sample size, number of positive POLE-mutant cases, sequencing information, clinicopathologic data, and survival data. Meta-analysis and a random-effects model produced pooled estimates of POLE frequency and prognostic parameters using 95% confidence intervals (CI), hazard ratios (HR), and odd ratios (OR).
Results Six thousand three hundred and forty-six EC patient cases were pooled from 25 studies. The pooled proportion of POLE gene mutation in EC was 8.59% (95% CI, 7.01 to 10.32), of which 8.22% (95% CI, 6.27 to 10.42) were type I and 0.93% (95% CI, 0.34 to 1.81) type 2. Clinicopathologic data showed that POLE-mutated tumors are mostly endometrioid. They present at higher levels in earlier stages (I–II) of EC (89.51%; 95% CI, 81.11 to 95.66) at the highest grade III (51.53%; 95% CI, 36.08 to 66.84) with reduced myometrial invasion (OR, 1.48, 95% CI, 0.99 to 2.20). Survival analysis indicated favorable overall survival (HR, 0.90), disease-specific survival (HR, 0.41), and progression-free survival (HR, 0.23) for POLE mutant EC.
Conclusions Almost one-tenth of EC patients have POLE-mutated tumors. Given their improved prognostic potential, identifying the POLE mutation status is key for the management of EC patients.
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Methods In this study, 100 cases of EA, 49 cases with MELF pattern and 51 without, were immunohistochemically stained for galectin-1, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and MVD. Morphometry and statistical (univariate and multivariate) analyses were performed to assess overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival.
Results The expression of VEGF (p<.001) and galectin-1 (p<.001), as well as MVD area (p<.001) and number of vessels/mm2 (p<.050), were significantly higher in the +MELF pattern group compared to the –MELF group. A low negative correlation between MELFpattern and the number of days of survival (p<.001, r=–0.47) was also found. A low positive correlation of MELF-pattern with galectin-1 expression (p<.001, r=0.39), area of vessels/mm2 (p<.001, r=0.36), outcome of EA (p<.001, r=0.42) and VEGF expression (p<.001, r=0.39) suggests potential pathological relevance of these factors in the prognosis of EA. A univariate survival analysis indicated a role for all parameters of survival. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis revealed that only area of vessels/mm2 (hazard ratio [HR], 1.018; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.002 to 1.033), galectin-1 (HR, 1.049; 95% CI, 1.025 to 1.074) and VEGF (HR, 1.049; 95% CI, 1.022 to 1.077) play key roles in OS.
Conclusions This study reports an increase in MVD, VEGF and galectin-1 expression in EA with MELF pattern and suggests that MELF pattern, along with the angiogenic profile, may be a prognostic factor in EA.
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Background In order to improve the efficacy of endometrial carcinoma (EC) treatment, identifying prognostic factors for high risk patients is a high research priority. This study aimed to assess the relationships among the expression of estrogen receptors (ER), progesterone receptors (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), Ki-67, and the different histopathological prognostic parameters in EC and to assess the value of these in the management of EC.
Methods We examined 109 cases of EC. Immunohistochemistry for ER, PR, HER2, and Ki-67 were evaluated in relation to age, tumor size, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage and grade, depth of infiltration, cervical and ovarian involvement, lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI), and lymph node (LN) metastasis.
Results The mean age of patients in this study was 59.8 ± 8.2 years. Low ER and PR expression scores and high Ki-67 expression showed highly significant associations with non-endometrioid histology (p = .007, p < .001, and p < .001, respectively) and poor differentiation (p = .007, p < .001, and p <. 001, respectively). Low PR score showed a significant association with advanced stage (p = .009). Low ER score was highly associated with LVSI (p = .006), and low PR scores were associated significantly with LN metastasis (p = .026). HER2 expression was significantly related to advanced stages (p = .04), increased depth of infiltration (p = .02), LVSI (p = .017), ovarian involvement (p = .038), and LN metastasis (p = .038). There was a close relationship between HER2 expression and uterine cervical involvement (p = .009). Higher Ki-67 values were associated with LN involvement (p = .012).
Conclusions The over-expression of HER2 and Ki-67 and low expression of ER and PR indicate a more malignant EC behavior. An immunohistochemical panel for the identification of high risk tumors can contribute significantly to prognostic assessments.
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Background The pathogenesis and etiology of endometrial polyps has not been elucidated. In this study, we aimed to examine the pathogenic mechanisms of endometrial polyp development using immunohistochemistry. We evaluated the expression of galectin-3 and cyclooxgenase-2 (COX-2) during the menstrual cycle in premenopausal women with endometrial polyps or normal endometrium.
Methods Thirty-one patients with endometrial polyps and 50 healthy control patients were included in this study. The levels of expression of COX-2 and galectin-3 were studied by immunohistochemistry.
Results The percentage of COX-2–positive cells and the intensity of COX-2 staining in the endometrium did not vary during the menstrual cycle either in the control group or in patients with endometrial polyps. However, expression of galectin-3 was significantly lower in endometrial polyps and during the proliferative phase of the endometrium compared with the secretory phase.
Conclusions Our data suggests that the pathogenesis of endometrial polyps does not involve expression of COX-2 or galectin-3.
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BACKGROUND The diagnosis of endometrial stromal sarcoma (ESS) is often difficult in cases showing diverse histological differentiation or in undifferentiated endometrial sarcoma (UES). Recently, JAZF1/JJAZ1 gene fusion has been described as a defining feature of low-grade ESS (LGESS). However, its prevalence is variably reported, and the diagnostic utility has rarely been examined for cases showing various histological differentiation. METHODS To test the diagnostic utility of JAZF1/JJAZ1 gene fusion in difficult cases, we compared the prevalence of the JAZF1/JJAZ1 fusion gene in LGESS with and without histological differentiation. RESULTS The JAZF1/JJAZ1 fusion transcript was detected in 18 of 21 LGESS (85.7%), including 14 classical LGESS (93%), four LGESS with diverse histological differentiation (67%), and two with UES (28.6%). Positive cases included two LGESS with sex cord-like differentiation, one with osseous differentiation, and two UES. LGESS showing smooth muscle differentiation revealed the fusion transcript only in the classic area. Direct sequencing analysis of two LGESS revealed a previously reported breakpoint at t(7;17)(p15;q21). CONCLUSIONS The JAZF1/JJAZ1 fusion gene was identified in a significant proportion of LGESS showing secondary histological differentiation except in cases with smooth muscle differentiation. Thus, this fusion gene may be useful to confirm the diagnosis in difficult cases of LGESS.
Endometrial papillary serous carcinoma (EPSC) is a distinct variant of endometrial adenocarcinoma that histologically resembles ovarian serous papillary adenocarcinoma and has an aggressive clinical course. Usually, the tumor is diagnosed at the advanced stage. The tumor has well confused with metastatic ovarian tumor of identical histology. Diagnosis of EPSC should be considered when the cervico-vaginal smear reveals numerous papillary clusters of tumor cells with macronucleoli and psammoma bodies.
Recently, we have experienced two cases of EPSC diagnosed on cervico-vaginal smears, which revealed characteristic cytologic features including numerous papillary clusters of tumor cells with macronucleoli. The cytologic diagnoses were confirmed on histologic sections.
This report describes a very rare case of primary undifferentiated carcinoma of the endometrium with small cell and trophoblastic differentiation. The patient was 54-year-old woman with complaints of vaginal bleeding and palpable lower abdominal mass. The light microscopic findings revealed predominantly small cells with round nuclei, spindle cells, and large cells with hyperchromatic bizarre nuclei. Foci of syncytiotrophoblastic giant cells are scattered, especially in the hemorrhagic areas.
Immunohistochemical stainging for neuron specific enolase and beta-hCG showed positive reactions to small cells and syncytiotrophoblastic giant cells, respectively. Argentaffin and argyrophil stains, however, showed negative reactions to small cells. The histogenesis of small cell undifferentiated carcinoma of the endometrium remains unclear; however, it may arise from epithelial precursors instead of neuroendocrine cells, and syncytiotrophoblastic cells may be differentiated or dedifferentiated from the undifferentiated carcinoma cells.
The mutation of p53, a tumor suppressor gene, has been considered to play an important role in tumorigenesis in a variety of human cancers and the abnormal expression of p53 are frequently associated with poor prognosis. In order to examine the association of p53 overexpression with known prognostic factors including estrogen receptors (ER) and progesterone receptors (PR), we studied the status of p53 protein expression by immunohistochemical staining of paraffin sections of 29 endometrial carcinoma (25 endometrioid carcinoma, 2 clear cell carcinoma, and 2 serous carcinoma), obtained from hysterectomy. The results were as follows: The expression of p53, ER, and PR was present in 9/29 (31%), 3/29 (16%), and 12/29 (48%), respectively. The expression of p53 in endometrioid adenocarcinoma was present in 6/25 (24%) and showed significant correlation with histologic grade, nuclear grade, and myometrial invasion. The status of PR showed significant inverse correlation with histologic grade, nuclear grade and myometrial invasion. There was no significant correlation between ER status and these histologic factors. The expression of p53 was inversely associated with the status of PR, but statistically not significant. Our results indicate that p53 may be useful in predicting prognosis in endometrial carcinoma and will be able to provide helpful information in predetermination of aggressive behavior of the tumor in evaluation of curettage specimen.
Kwang Sun Suh, Insun Kim, Moon Hyang Park, Geung Hwan Ahn, Jin Hee Sohn, In Ae Park, Hye Kyoung Yoon, Kyu Rae Kim, Hee Jung An, Dong Won Kim, Mi Jin Kim, Hee Jae Joo, Eun Kyung Kim, Young Hee Choi, Chong Woo Yoo, Kyung Un Choi, Sang Yeop Yi, Hye Sun Kim, Sung Ran Hong, Hee Jeong Lee, Sun Lee
BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to examine the reproducibility of both the diagnosis of endometrial hyperplasia (EH) or adenocarcinoma, and the histologic grading (HG) of endometrioid adenocarcinoma (EC). METHODS Ninety-three cases of EH or adenocarcinomas were reviewed independently by 21 pathologists of the Gynecologic Pathology Study Group. A consensus diagnosis was defined as agreement among more than two thirds of the 21 pathologists. RESULTS There was no agreement on the diagnosis in 13 cases (14.0%). According to the consensus review, six of the 11 EH cases (54.5%) were diagnosed as EH, 48 of the 57 EC cases (84.2%) were EC, and 5 of the 6 serous carcinomas (SC) (83.3%) were SC. There was no consensus for the 6 atypical EH (AEH) cases. On the HG of EC, there was no agreement in 2 cases (3.5%). According to the consensus review, 30 of the 33 G1 cases (90.9%) were G1, 11 of the 18 G2 cases (61.1%) were G2, and 4 of the 4 G3 cases (100.0%) were G3. CONCLUSIONS The consensus study showed high agreement for both EC and SC, but there was no consensus for AEH. The reproducibility for the HG of G2 was poor. We suggest that simplification of the classification of EH and a two-tiered grading system for EC will be necessary.
The significance of endometrial cells on cervicovaginal smears is underestimated. The aim of this study is to evaluate the detection rate of endometrial cells on cervicovaginal smears. The materials consisted of two groups. Group I was 701 cervicovaginal smears from patients with no gynecological problems. Group II was 208 cervicovaginal smears from patients with abnormal uterine bleeding followed by endometrial curettage; 31 cases of endometrial adenocarcinoma(CA), 19 cases of endometrial hyperplasia(HP), 83 cases of dysfunctional uterine bleeding(DUB), and 75 cases of normal endometrium.
Cervicovaginal smears was reviewed according to the criteria of The Bethesda System. Endometrial cells were identified in 15 of 701 cases(2.1%) in group I and 64 of 208 cases(30.8%) in group II. Among group II, detection rate of endometrial cells was the highest in CA (51.6%) compared to HP(26.3%), DUB(41.0%), and normal endometrium(12.0%) (p<0.05).
Cytologic atypia of endometrial cells was not found in group I, but was more frequently identified in CA(87.5%) than in HP(10.5%) or DUB(14.7%) (p<0.05). Exfoliation of endometrial cells might be related to abnormal endometrial lesion, and reporting of endometrial cells in the cervicovaginal smear may increase a chance to detect endometrial lesions especially in patients with abnormal uterine bleeding.
Proliferations of the endometrial glands form a continuum from focal glandular crowding through simple hyperplasia, complex hyperplasia and atypical hyperplasia to frank adenocarcinoma. But objective criteria to distinguish these proliferative endometrial lesions are not clear-cut and terminology is confusing. The p53 protein is a nuclear phosphoprotein that can regulate cell proliferation and suppress tumor growth. Mutation in the p53 gene have been reported in a variety of human tumors, and in selected malignancies overexpression of p53 has been associated with poor prognosis. In this study we examined a series of endometrial proliferative lesion, including hyperplasia, adenocarcinoma, and adenomyosis to determine whether or not p53 is overexpressed in these lesions. In the result, p53 immunoreactivity was observed in 3 of 17 (17.6%) simple hyperplasia, one of 6 (16.6%) complex hyperplasia, none of 3 (O%) atypical hyperplasia, 6 of 13 (46.1%) adenocarcinoma and none of 10 (O%) adenomyosis. In conclusion, p53 mutation seems to play a role in oncogenesis of endometrial adenocarcinoma in early phase but there was no significant relationship between p53 overexpression and histologic grade of adenocarcinoma.
The significance of endometrial cells on cervicovaginal smears is underestimated. The aim of this study is to evaluate the detection rate of endometrial cells on cervicovaginal smears. The materials consisted of two groups. Group I was 701 cervicovaginal smears from patients with no gynecological problems. Group II was 208 cervicovaginal smears from patients with abnormal uterine bleeding followed by endometrial curettage; 31 cases of endometrial adenocarcinoma(CA), 19 cases of endometrial hyperplasia(HP), 83 cases of dysfunctional uterine bleeding(DUB), and 75 cases of normal endometrium.
Cervicovaginal smears were reviewed according to the criteria of The Bethesda System. Endometrial cells were identified in 15 of 701 cases(2.1%) in group I and 64 of 208 cases(30.8%) in group II. Among group II, detection rate of endometrial cells was the highest in CA (51.6%) compared to HP(26.3%), DUB(41.0%), and normal endometrium(12.0%) ( p<0.05). Cytologic atypia of endometrial cells was not found in group I, but was more frequently identified in CA(87.5%) than in HP(10.5%) or DUB(14.7%) ( p<0.05). Exfoliation of endometrial cells might be related to abnormal endometrial lesion, and reporting of endometrial cells in the cervicovaginal smear may increase a chance to detect endometrial lesions especially in patients with abnormal uterine bleeding.
Estrogen and progesterone receptors exist in the epithelial and stromal cells of the endometrium. Proliferative disorders of the endometrium may be associated with autocrine and paracrine actions of estrogen and progesterone in epithelial and stromal cells. This study was performed to evaluate the differences estrogen and progesterone receptor(ER/PR) expression in the epithelial and stromal cells of endometrial hyperplasias and adenocarcinomas using immunohistochemical methods. Immunohistochemical analysis of proliferating cell nuclear antigen(PCNA) was done to evaluate a possible correlation between PCNA and hormone receptor expression. Evaluation was based on samples from 31 simple hyperplasias, 30 complex hyperplasias, and 32 adenocarcinomas. The immunohistochemical expression of ER, PR and PCNA in epithelial and stromal cells were examined according to a scoring system based on the percentage of positive cells and the staining intensity. The results were as follows; 1) The expression of ER and PR in epithelial cells showed a graded, significant decreases in simple hyperplasia, complex hyperplasia and endometrial carcinoma, in that order(ER: P=0.008, PR: P= 0.026). 2) PR expression in the stromal cells showed a significant decrease between hyperplasia and adenocarcinoma(P=0.003). The difference in ER expression was not significant. 3) In stromal cells, the decrease in PR expression was more prominent than the decrease in ER expression when complex hyperplasia was compared to simple hyperplasia. 4) The PCNA expression in simple and complex hyperplasia and adenocarcinoma was not higher than the expression of PCNA in nomal proliferative endometrium. There was no significant difference in PCNA expression between simple and complex hyperplasia and adenocarcinoma(P=0.073). 5) A negative correlation between PCNA and ER/PR expression was not demonstrated in simple and complex hyperplasia, or in adenocarcinoma. Endometrial hyperplasia and adenocarcinoma are probably related to a paracrine action of estrogen and progesterone in epithelial and stromal cells. A progressive loss of PR expression in stromal cells may induce abnormal proliferation of endometrium due to a disrupted hormonal balance.
The evaluation of the proliferative potential of malignant neoplasm is of major interest for predicting their biological behavior. MIB-1, a monoclonal antibody against the Ki-67 antigen, is a marker of cell proliferation, which is widely applied to human cancers recently. To assess the growth potential of uterine endometrial carcinoma, we performed immunohistochemical staining of MIB-1 in 34 cases of endometrial adenocarcinoma (endometroid type) from the paraffin sections. We evaluated its correlation with p53 overexpression and known prognostic factors including FIGO grade, nuclear grade, myometrial invasion, and estrogen and progesterone receptors. As a result, the MIB-1 labelling index was significantly correlated with FIGO grade, nuclear grade and myometrial invasion (p<0.05) and there was no significant correlation between MIB-1, ER or PR status. The expression of p53 protein showed significant correlation with FIGO grade and nuclear grade (p<0.05) and there was no significant correlation among p53 protein, myometrial invasion, ER and PR status.
The MIB-1 labelling index revealed striking difference between p53 positive and p53 negative group (p<0.05). We concluded that MIB-1 labelling index is associated with poor prognostic parameter in endometrial adenocarcinoma, and may be a useful marker for predicting tumor of high grade and deep myometrial invasion, if MIB-1 labelling index is more than 50% and is accompanied by p53 overexpression.
Bcl-2 is a proto-oncogene initially described in follicular lymphoma, associated with chromosomal translocation(14;18).
Recent studies have shown the presence of Bcl-2 in nonhematolymphoid tissue, especially in hormonally responsive tissue. The endometrium is an attractive model for studying the hormone dependent regulation of Bcl-2 expression. We have studied the immunoreactivity of Bcl-2 oncoprotein in relation to the immunoreactivity of estrogen receptors(ER) and progesterone receptors(PR) by immunohistochemistry in 52 human endometrial carcinomas, according to nuclear grade. The results obtained are summarized as followings, 1) Immunohistochemical grade of Bcl-2 showed a significant inverse correlation with nuclear grade. 2) Immunohistochemical grades of ER and PR also showed a significant inverse correlation with nuclear grade, and were well correlated with each other. 3) Immunohistochemical grades of Bcl-2 and hormone receptors showed a strongly significant correlation. On the basis of the above results, we suggest that Bcl-2 expression may be under hormone dependent control and that it can be used in prognosis and choice of hormonal therapy in the presence of hormone receptor.
Endometrial stromal sarcoma (ESS) is a mesenchymal neoplasm that usually occurs as a primary tumor of the uterine corpus, but rarely arises in other sites, such as the ovary, the pelvic cavity, mesentery, omentum, and serosal or intramural portions of the large intestine. We present a case in which multiple nodules of ESS involving the taenia coli of the ascending colon were accompanied by grossly and radiologically unrecognized small, endometrial stromal lesions (less than 0.5 cm in the greatest dimension) with only focal marginal irregularities in the subsequent hysterectomy specimen. Whether this small sized endometrial stromal tumor is an incidentally associated endometrial stromal nodule (ESN) or a small sized, low grade ESS that was preceded by metastatic lesion is debatable. However, endometrial stromal tumors with tongue-like protrusions and associated fibroblastic stromal reaction around the tumor strongly favored these nodules being the small uterine ESS mimicking ESN. We propose that meticulous search for the detection of uterine ESS is mandatory before making a diagnosis of primary extrauterine ESS even in cases having a grossly or radiologically normal uterus and that the extent of focal irregularities of ESN should be more clearly defined for the correct diagnosis of ESS and ESN.
We evaluated 1,000 consecutive endometrial curettage samples obtained over a 30 month period. The clinico-pathologic correlation was analysed according to Hendrickson's five criteria based on the practical view. The causes of uterine bleeding in decreasing order of occurrence were as follows: 1) hormonal imbalance lesions (49.2%) encompassing glandular and stromal breakdown suggesting anovulatory bleeding, proliferative phase endometrium, and disordered proliferative endometrium, 2) pregnancy associated lesions (24.2%), 3) organic lesions (13.5%), 4) endometrial hyperplasia (6.9%), and 5) inadequate specimen (6.2%).
According to age, pregnancy related lesions were most frequent in the third decade. In the fourth, fifth, and sixth decades, hormonal imbalance lesions were the most common cause. In approximately 30% of the samples, there were two or three morphologic patterns such as anovulatory bleeding with an endometrial polyp, postabortal bleeding with inflammation, and glandular-stromal dissociation with a polyp, which suggested there was a variable histologic morphology in the same disease spectrum. Using immunohistochemical techniques we studied the hormonal dependency of bcl-2 oncoprotein in anovulatory bleeding, endometrial hyperplasia, and proliferative endometrium. 70% of anovulatory bleeding specimens showed weak positivity in the epithelial cytoplasm, and all cases of endometrial hyperplasia and carcinoma showed a strong positivity. These results suggest that there is a estrogenic hormonal dependency of apoptosis in the endometrium.
A case of low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma resembling ovarian sex-cord tumor in the uterus of a 43-year-old woman is described. This tumor belongs to the group II category of uterine tumors resembling ovarian sex-cord tumor described by Clement and Scully, and the epithelial-like elements show prominent smooth muscle differentiation, proved by immunoreactivity for desmin and actin. The patient did not receive any adjuvant therapy; she is alive and well without recurrence 8 months postoperatively.
During evaluation of follow-up curettage of endometrial hyperplasia after progesterone treatment, we have noticed that the foci of squamous or morular metaplasia are persistent or even markedly increased after the hyperplastic glands have all disappeared. These observations have led us to study the histological changes of squamous or morular metaplasia in the hyperplastic endometrium after progesterone treatment and to examine the changes of estrogen receptors(ER) and progesterone receptors(PR) to find out, if there is any pathogenetic role of progesterone administration on the squamous or morular metaplasia.
Squamous or morular metaplasia was associated in 21 cases (13.5 %) out of 156 endometrial hyperplasia during the study periods and all of them were associated with complex hyperplasia, but not associated with simple hyperplasia. At follow-up curettage after progesterone treatment, squamous metaplasia newly appeared in 3 cases(20 %), markedly increased in 4 cases(26.7%), persisted in 4 cases(26.7%) and decreased in 4 cases(26.7%), even after hyperplastic glands have all disappeared or were markedly decreased. On immunohistochemical staining, metaplastic foci showed ER- and PR- in 13 cases (87 %) in contrast to the surrounding endometrium and the remaining 2 cases showed minimal ER+ and PR+ confined to several nuclei. Intensity or staining pattern of ER and PR in metaplastic foci were not changed with progesterone treatment. In the background endometrium, intensity of glandular ER+ and PR + was higher than that of the stroma at the initial curettage, however, progesterone treatment predominantly down-regulated glandular ER+ more than stromal ER+. Increment or persistence of squamous metaplasia along the progesterone treatment seemingly would implicate hormonal influences as playing a significant role in the formation of squamous or morular metaplasia and the absence of cellular receptors for these hormones in the metaplastic foci may suggest qualitative changes in the receptors.
The histologic differentiation of endometrial and endocervical adenocarcinomas is a common diagnostic problum of clinical importance, because the staging, treatment and prognosis of these lesions are quite different. First, we examined the distribution of acid mucin in endometrial and endocervical adenocarcinoma (23 cases and 25 cases repectively), but distinguishing differences between endometrial and endocervical adenocarcinoma, especially of endometrioid type, were not observed. Secondly, the distribution of low-molecular weight cytokeratin, vimentin and carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA) by immunohistochemistry were examined in formalin-fixed tissues. CEA was present in 88% of endocervical adenocarcinomas and 34.8% of endometrial adenocarcinoma. vimentin was found in 91.3% of endometrial adenocarcinomas, in contrast with only in 16% of endocervical adenocarcinomas. This study showed that the presence of vimentin in neoplastic glands, in which CEA is negative, may be helpful in the differential diagnosis of endometrial from endocervical adenocarcinomas.
The authors report a case of uterine tumor resembling ovarian sex-cord tumor in a 31-year-old woman with emphasis on immunohistochemistry. Histologically this case showed identical features to a well-recognized endometial stromal tumor except for focal epithelial-like differentiation that resembled sex-cord tumors of the ovary. The sex-cord like differentiation of tumor cells were manifested by trabeculae, plexiform cords, and gland-like pattern. We diagnosed this case, according to the features described by Clement and Scully(1976), as uterine tumor resembling ovarian sex-cord tumor, group I. Although the histogenesis of this tumor is unclarified, most authors believe that this tumor may be originated from multipotent mesenchymal cells of the uterus. On immunohistochemical stains, Desmin was uniformly reactive in epithelial-like cells and in focal areas of endometrial stromal sarcoma-like component.
Vimentin was partly reactive in all tumor components, however EMA was non-reactive.
We reviewed histological and immunohistochemical findings of the endometrium in 28 cases of ectopic pregnancy and 11 cases of intrauterine pregnancy without chorionic villi or syncytiotrophoblast. 1) Twenty cases(71.41/o) of ectopic pregnancy revealed gestational patterns and 8 cases(28.6%) showed non-gestational patterns, which were menstrual phase in 3 cases, proliferative phase in I case, early secretary phase in 3 cases and mid secretary phase in 3 cases, respectively. Implantation sites were present in 36.40/o of intrauterine pregnancy. 2) Endometrial spiral arterioles tend to be more prominent with frequent intimal proliferation and thickening of the wall in intrauterine pregnancy than in ectopic pregnancy although it was not statistically significant(p=0.271). 3) Deposition of fibrinoid material in the endometrium was present in 72.7% of intrauterine pregnancy and 25% of ectopic pregnancy.
Thrombosis was present in 72.7% of intrauterine pregnancy and 5% of ectopic pregnancy. Hyalinized vessels were also present in 90.9% of intrauterine pregnancy and 200/o of ectopic pregnancy. These were statistically significant(p=0.0002, 0.0209 and 0.0004), but not diagnostic. 4) On immunohistochemical study for intrauterine pregnancy, the rates of positive reaction to human placental lactogen, cytokeratin and human chorionic gonadotropin were 45.5%, 45.5% and 9%, respectively. We concluded that HFIL and cytokeratin are reliable and sensitive markers for implantation site.
Endometrial mucinous adenocarcinoma occurs in 1-9% of endometrial adenocarcinomas and adenocarcinoma with squamous differentiation in approximately 25%. We report a rare case of mucinous adenocarcinoma with squamous differentiation in a 53-year-old woman. Curetting biopsies of the endometrial lesion were taken twice after hormone replacement therapy, which lasted for four months. Because the squamous differentiation was so extensive, the initial diagnosis based on each curetting specimen was squamous papilloma. A total hysterectomy was performed and the tumor was revealed to be a mucinous adenocarcinoma with squamous differentiation.
We subsequently discussed the pathogenesis and prognosis of this type of tumor.
Heat shock protein(HSP), first found in the MCF-7 human breast tumor cell line is one of the estrogen-regulated proteins and its synthesis is stimulated by estradiol. In this study, immunohistochemical staining was done for estrogen receptor(ER) and HSP on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections in twelve normal cyclic and twenty carcinomatous endometria. 1) During the proliferative and early secretary phases, the nuclei of surface and glandular epithelial cells and stromal cells had moderate to strong staining for ER, whereas during the mid and late secretary phases, the glandular epithelial and stromal cells had weak staining for ER. The surface epithelial cells had positive staining of variable intensity. 2) From the early proliferative to mid secretary phases, the glandular and surface epithelial cells showed a positive reaction of variable intensity for HSP. In the late secretary phase, the glandular and surface epithelial cells showed a weak positive or a negative reaction for HSP.
During the menstrual cycle, the stromal cells remained negative for HSP. 3) In adenocarcinomas of the endometrium, 8 of 11 (72.7%) well differentiated carcinomas were positive for both ER and HSP, while only 3 of 9(33.3%) moderately and poorly differentiated carcinomas were positive for ER and HSP. In conclusion, ER and estrogen-regulated heat shock protein(HSP) were closely related in normal and carcinomatous endometria and the reactivity was decreased according to poor differentiation.