Respiratory epithelial adenomatoid hamartoma: case report and literature review

We report a case of a 29-year-old male patient with a respiratory epithelial adenomatoid hamartoma (REAH) of the nasal cavity. REAH is a polypoid proliferation of glandular spaces lined by ciliated epithelium and goblet cells in the upper aerodigestive tract. Although REAHs are benign lesions, they may be confused with a variety of other pathologies such as inflammatory polyps, inverted Schneiderian papillomas and low-grade sinonasal adenocarcinomas. The recognition of this entity is important as complete excision is curative.     

Sinonasal glomangiopericytoma: case report with emphasis on the differential diagnosis

Glomangiopericytoma (sinonasal-type hemangiopericytoma) is an uncommon sinonasal neoplasm with a perivascular myoid phenotype. This tumor differs from conventional soft tissue hemangiopericytoma in location, biologic behavior, and histologic features. The proposed cell of origin is a modified perivascular glomuslike myoid cell. Glomangiopericytoma is an indolent tumor that tends to arise in the sinonasal tract of older adults and has a low malignant potential with excellent prognosis after surgical resection. Histologically, this lesion is composed of a diffuse, subepithelial proliferation of bland, uniform, closely packed spindled cells growing in a variety of patterns. A distinctive vascular network composed of variably sized vascular channels, the smaller of which demonstrate perivascular hyalinization, is often present. We report the case of a 48-year-old woman with epistaxis and nasal obstruction who was diagnosed with glomangiopericytoma and discuss the histologic differential diagnosis.     

Fine-needle aspiration of the breast: A review of 1,995 cases with emphasis on diagnostic pitfalls

Between 1985 to 1989, 1, 95 fine-needle aspirations of palpable breast lesions were performed at our institution. In all cases, the aspirates were procured by cytopathologists using 22- or 23-gauge needles. Direct smears were immediately stained with Diff-Quik and Papanicolaou and assessed for specimen adequacy (criteria as followed in this institution). Tissue follow-up was available in 1,117 cases. The cytologic diagnoses rendered in these cases were: malignant, 690 cases (60.2%); suspicious for carcinoma, 49 cases (4.3%); benign, 343 cases (29.9%), and insufficient specimen, 35 cases (3.1%). There were 28 false-negative and 2 false-positive results. Considering only cases definitively diagnosed as benign or malignant, the sensitivity was 96%, specificity 99%, positive predictive value 99%, negative predictive value 94%, and overall efficiency 97%. Of those specimens considered suspicious, only 11 cases (22%) were proved not to be malignant after excisional biopsy. These were three fibroadenomas, three ductal hyperplasias, two adenosis tumors, two mucocele-like lesions, and one nipple adenoma. The two lesions that resulted in true false-positive diagnoses were an apocrine cyst with atypia and sclerosing adenosis with radial scar. The clinical and cytologic features of the benign conditions that resulted in false suspicious and positive diagnoses and those features that distinguish them from carcinoma are presented.     

Myositis ossificans and fibroosseous pseudotumor of digits: a clinicopathological review of 64 cases with emphasis on diagnostic pitfalls

Myositis ossificans (MO) and fibroosseous pseudotumor of digits (FP) are pseudotumoral mimics of malignancy. A review of 50 cases of MO and 14 cases of FP showed that a malignant diagnosis was suggested by referring pathologists in 23% of MO and 9% of FP. The most common misdiagnosis was osteosarcoma. Awareness of the spectrum of clinicopathological features of MO and FP will help pathologists avoid misdiagnoses. A comparison of the clinicopathological features of MO and FP showed that most features were similar, but FP involved an older age group (p<0.001). MO showed a statistically significant higher tendency to contain fibrinous material (p=0.007), edematous lymphangioma-like areas (p=0.013), and cartilage (p=0.017) and FP to contain excessive immature osteoid (p=0.029). These differences may be related to the site of occurrence.     

Sonographic findings of breast hamartoma: emphasis on compressibility

The characteristic features of hamartoma in terms of discrepancies in mammographic and sonographic shapes of the mass were evaluated. We reviewed 16 pathologically proven breast hamartomas, which had undergone preoperative mammography and ultrasonography. All masses were analyzed according to ACR-BIRADS on mammography. On sonography, each mass was analyzed for size, shape, margin, internal echogenicity, and posterior acoustic enhancement. We also analyzed the echogenicity of halo, and compared the characteristic changes in the shape of hamartomas attributable to compression in mammograms and sonograms. The most common sites were at 12 o'clock in the right breast and 2 o'clock in the left. The most common mammographic findings of the hamartomas were a round shape (11/16), a circumscribed margin (13/16), internal fat densities (D4)(16/16) and radiolucent halos (14/16). The most common sonographic findings of the hamartomas were an oval shape (16/16), circumscribed margins (10/16), heterogeneous internal echogenicity (14/16), echogenic (7/16) or echolucent halos (5/16), and posterior enhancements (12/16). The characteristic feature of hamartomas was a change of the mammographic round shape mass into an elongated oval shape mass by sonography (11/11), suggesting the compressibility of hamartomas. Three of the hamartomas contained a pathologically proven internal calcification. The presence of a hamartoma was suggested by a change in a mammographic round mass with a radiolucent halo into an oval heterogeneous mass surrounded by an echogenic or echolucent halo on the sonogram. This characteristic difference between the mammographic and sonographic findings was attributed to the hamartoma compressibility, and was associated with the over-proliferation of fat containing mature normal breast tissue.     

Angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma a series of five cytologic cases with literature review and emphasis on diagnostic pitfalls

Angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma (AFH) is an uncommon and mostly indolent soft tissue neoplasm, which usually occurs in the subcutaneous tissue of the extremities in children and young adults. Although the histologic features of AFH are well established, reports of its cytomorphology are very limited. This report characterizes the cytomorphologic features of five cases of AFH, with correlation to clinical, histology, and cytogenetic findings. Smears of fine needle aspiration (FNA; four cases) and intraoperative scrape (one case) were reviewed from five patients with a histologically confirmed diagnosis of AFH. A review of six previously reported AFH cases with cytomorphology was also performed. The tumor presented as a cystic, deep dermal mass in three pediatric cases and as a solid, deeply seated mass in two adults. The cytomorphologic features are mostly nondistinctive and include cellular smears with ovoid to spindled histiocytoid cells that may be isolated or in clusters. Some of these cells are atypical and others contain hemosiderin. Large cellular clusters with a capillary structure and a whorled arrangement of tumor cells can be appreciated in some cases. There is always a bloody background, but a lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate is uncommon. The presences of EWSR1 rearrangement in one case and three copies of FUS gene in another case were detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Diagnosing AFH by FNA cytology alone can be challenging because of its rarity and usually nonspecific cytologic findings. Clinical correlation and ancillary studies are essential to reach a specific diagnosis of AFH in small needle biopsies.     

Pleuro-pulmonary endometriosis and pulmonary ectopic deciduosis: A clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of 10 cases with emphasis on diagnostic pitfalls

The clinical and pathological features of nine cases of pleuropulmonary endometriosis and the first case of pulmonary ectopic deciduosis are presented. The patients were all women between the ages of 27 and 74 years (median, 36 years) who presented with symptoms of catamenial pleural pain, shortness of breath, hemoptysis, or radiographically detected lung masses. Clinically, six patients were multiparous, one patient had pelvic endometriosis, and four patients had undergone prior pelvic surgical procedures, including dilatation and curettage. Radiographically, eight patients had pulmonary infiltrates or nodules, and four patients had pneumothorax. Three cases involved the visceral pleura and one case the parietal pleura. The other six cases, including the single case of ectopic deciduosis, involved the lung parenchyma. Histologically, the single or multifocal lesions were well circumscribed or infiltrative, nodular, cystic, or nodulo-cystic, and showed the characteristic features of proliferative or secretory endometrium with numerous müllerian metaplastic changes. Mucin stains were negative in five cases of endometriosis and in the single case of ectopic deciduosis. Immunohistochemical studies were performed in these same six cases using antibodies to epithelial, mesenchymal, vascular, and neuroendocrine markers. The glandular epithelium was decorated with antibodies to pan-cytokeratin, CK7, BER-EP4, ER, and PR, whereas the stromal cells showed positive staining for vimentin, actin, smooth muscle actin, desmin, ER, and PR. Follow-up information obtained in seven patients showed all women without recurrences after 1 to 20 years. The current study highlights the importance of recognizing intrathoracic endometriosis and ectopic deciduosis and properly assessing small biopsy specimens to avoid a misdiagnosis of malignancy.     

Ovarian spindle cell lesions: a review with emphasis on recent developments and differential diagnosis

Ovarian lesions composed of spindle cells comprise a heterogeneous group; most are neoplastic but several non-neoplastic conditions are also composed of spindle cells. This review discusses the main differential diagnoses of an ovarian spindle cell lesion, especially concentrating on the recent literature. The majority of ovarian spindle cell lesions fall into the broad category of fibromatous neoplasms whereas others in the sex cord-stromal group may also be composed of spindle cells, including thecomas, granulosa, and Sertoli-Leydig cell tumors and rarer neoplasms, such as sclerosing stromal tumor and signet-ring stromal tumor. In the recent past there have been several major contributions on various aspects of ovarian spindle cell lesions, including cellular and mitotically active cellular fibromatous lesions, smooth muscle neoplasms, and metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Other mesenchymal or epithelial tumors and mixed epithelial and mesenchymal neoplasms may also enter into the differential diagnosis of an ovarian spindle cell lesion. Several non-neoplastic lesions may be composed of spindle cells, including massive edema, ovarian fibromatosis, stromal hyperplasia, and stromal hyperthecosis. Morphology remains the mainstay in diagnosis but immunohistochemistry may be invaluable in certain circumstances, one example being the identification of a metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor within the ovary.     

Kikuchi's histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis: an analysis of 108 cases with emphasis on differential diagnosis

Kikuchi's necrotizing lymphadenitis has now become recognized in many parts of the world as a well-defined clinicopathologic entity with a remarkable predilection for cervical lymph nodes of young women. The morphologic features encountered in lymph nodes are distinctive and should enable pathologists to establish the diagnosis with confidence. Nonetheless, this analysis of 108 cases, encountered over a 15-year period, has emphasized the difficulty that many pathologists have in recognizing this disorder, and in particular, in distinguishing it from malignant lymphoma. Although in the vast majority of cases, lymphadenopathy and other symptomatology resolves spontaneously, two of our patients, thought initially to have Kikuchi's disease, developed systemic lupus erythematosus. This raises consideration for the proposal that Kikuchi's disease may reflect a self-limited SLE-like auto-immune condition (a "forme fruste" of SLE), perhaps induced by virus-infected transformed lymphocytes. Moreover, such observations indicate that patients with Kikuchi's disease should be kept under observation for several years to ensure that they are not at risk for the development of systemic lupus erythematosus.     

Myxoid solitary fibrous tumor: a study of seven cases with emphasis on differential diagnosis.

Focal myxoid change is a well-recognized feature of solitary fibrous tumor (SFT), but to date, predominantly myxoid examples of SFT have not been reported. We describe seven cases of SFT in which stromal myxoid change affected 50% or more of the tumor examined, thus obscuring typical diagnostic features. Patients ranged in age from 35 to 68 years old (median, 45 yr), with an equal sex distribution. Tumor locations included pleura, orbit, and periparotid subcutaneous tissue, as well as four cases in deep soft tissue (two in the abdominal wall and one each in the chest wall and thigh). Myxoid areas were identified grossly in four cases. Histologically, the lesions were composed of bland spindle cells disposed haphazardly or with a lacy or reticulated appearance in a myxoid, richly vascularized stroma These myxoid areas were punctuated by small cellular aggregates in four cases, and areas showing diagnostic features of SFT were present in five of seven primary excision specimens. Atypical features suggestive of malignancy were not present in any of the cases. Immunohistochemically, all of the seven cases stained positively for CD34 and CD99 (013), and all were negative for smooth muscle actin, desmin, S-100 protein, epithelial membrane antigen, and pan-keratin. There were no recurrences or metastases reported in four patients with limited follow-up (median duration, 19 mo). Recognition of this uncommon morphologic subset of SFT is important because of possible confusion, particularly in small biopsy specimens, with a variety of myxoid spindle cell neoplasms with different biologic potential. These include low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma, myxoid synovial sarcoma, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor, low-grade myxofibrosarcoma, myxoid liposarcoma, myxoid spindle cell lipoma, myxoid neurofibroma, and so-called "hemangiopericytoma."     

Olfactory reference syndrome: diagnostic criteria and differential diagnosis

Olfactory reference syndrome (ORS) has been defined as a psychiatric condition characterized by persistent preoccupation about body odour accompanied by shame, embarrassment, significant distress, avoidance behaviour and social isolation. ORS has however not been included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edition) (DSM-IV) and, given that its primary symptoms may be found in various other disorders, differential diagnosis can be problematic. Using an illustrative case of ORS, we propose diagnostic criteria for ORS. We also argue that ORS represents a unique cluster of symptoms that can be delineated as a separate diagnostic entity, and that ORS falls on a spectrum of social anxiety disorders that includes social anxiety disorder, taijin kyofusho, and body dysmorphic disorder.     

Nasal glomus tumors: report of two cases with emphasis on immunohistochemical features and differential diagnosis.

We describe 2 cases of nasal glomus tumor that presented as nasal polyps. Grossly, each of the polypectomy specimens consisted of small fragments of polypoid soft tissue with glistening mucosa. Histopathological examination of each of the specimens showed sheets and nests of monomorphic round cells intimately associated with capillary-sized blood vessels. The tumor cells were strongly cytoplasmic positive for vimentin, smooth-muscle specific actin, muscle-specific actin, and CD34. Collagen IV showed pericellular positivity. Nasal glomus tumors are extremely rare and represent less than 0.5% of nasal nonepithelial tumors. Nasal polyps are common surgical pathological specimens, with the majority of nasal polyps being inflammatory polyps or a respiratory epithelial proliferation. Histologically, many nasal polyps show vascular proliferation with an inflammatory cell infiltrate, which may be confused with the rare glomus tumor. In addition, other nasal vascular tumors, in particular nasal hemangiopericytoma and neural tumors, may histologically mimic nasal glomus tumors.     

Principles and pitfalls of diagnostic test development: implications for spectroscopic tissue diagnosis

Diagnostic spectroscopy has the potential to supplant the time-honored "gold standard" of light microscopy and herald an era of in vivo tissue diagnosis. However, the lessons in disease diagnosis learned by pathologists over the years should not be forgotten. This discussion will focus on the basis principles and pitfalls of diagnostic test development, and how they apply to optical spectroscopy tissue diagnosis.     

Thyrolipoma: diagnostic pitfalls in the cytologic diagnosis and review of the literature

Thyrolipoma, or adenolipoma of the thyroid gland, is an uncommon neoplasm and thus not recognized by many cytopathologists. This is the first article to describe the fine-needle aspirate findings of a histologically confirmed thyrolipoma. The gross morphologic and computerized tomographic features of this entity are also discussed, and the literature is reviewed.     

Cytologic diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma,with particular emphasis on the epithelial noncohesive cell type

The effusion cytologies from 21 cases of malignant mesothelioma (MM) (15 pleural, 6 peritoneal) diagnosed at the Indiana University Medical Center during 1990–1997 were reviewed. Using the classification of Tao (Acta Cytol 1979;23:209–213), 13 cases of MM were of the epithelial cohesive cell type and 8 were of the epithelial noncohesive cell type. While the epithelial cohesive cell type has been discussed in the literature, the epithelial noncohesive cell type has not. The cytomorphologic features for both types are presented with particular emphasis on the noncohesive cell type. The differential diagnosis and use of ancillary confirmatory laboratory tests are briefly discussed. Because of its resemblance to florid reactive mesothelial hyperplasia and the general lack of awareness of the existence of the single‐cell pattern of mesothelioma, this diagnosis can often be missed. Diagn. Cytopathol. 1999;20:57–62. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Epithelioid angiosarcoma: a brief diagnostic review and differential diagnosis

Epithelioid angiosarcoma is a highly aggressive endothelial cell malignancy, most commonly arising in the deep soft tissues, but a variety of primary sites, including the adrenals, thyroid, skin, and bone, are encountered. On hematoxylin-eosin-stained sections, the pathologist encounters sheets of large, mildly to moderately pleomorphic epithelioid cells, with abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm, vesicular nuclei, and prominent nucleoli. Obvious vasoformative foci may not be present, creating confusion with metastatic carcinomas, malignant mesothelioma, melanoma, anaplastic lymphoma, epithelioid peripheral nerve sheath malignancies, and epithelioid sarcoma. Moreover, malignancies with apparent vascular differentiation must be distinguished from less aggressive vascular neoplasms, including epithelioid hemangioendothelioma. Given the range of clinical presentation, the diversity of primary sites, and the nonspecific initial histopathologic appearance, here we review the histologic findings and immunohistochemical profiles of epithelioid angiosarcoma and neoplasms in its differential diagnosis.     

Peritoneal washing cytology in women: diagnostic pitfalls and clues for correct diagnosis.

The significance of peritoneal washing cytology in the management of patients with gynecologic cancer is well established. Its microscopic evaluation, however, is not always straightforward. Previous studies have identified some of the conditions that may result in misinterpretation of cytologic results. This report reviews the literature and describes other sources of diagnostic difficulties and clues for correct diagnosis. In addition, an outline for distinguishing endosalpingiosis from borderline and well-differentiated serous carcinoma is proposed.     

Osteosarcoma with cytokeratin expression: a clinicopathological study of six cases with an emphasis on differential diagnosis from metastatic cancer

AIMS: To clarify the clinicopathological profile of osteosarcomas showing an intensely positive immunoreaction for cytokeratin. METHODS: Clinicopathological and immunohistochemical features were analysed in 131 patients with non-metastatic, conventional osteosarcoma, treated in Akita University and National Cancer Centre in Tokyo between 1972 and 1999. RESULTS: Six patients (4.5%; mean age, 32 years; four men, two women) had osteosarcomas showing intense cytokeratin expression. Tumours were located on the long bones of the extremities in five patients and the ilium in one. Osteoid formations were found in biopsied specimens in all cases. Three tumours were classified as osteoblastic osteosarcoma, two as fibroblastic, and one as chondroblastic. In three tumours classified as the osteoblastic subtype, epithelioid features were prominent, and four tumours showed pronounced cellular pleomorphism. In contrast to the expression of cytokeratin, epithelial membrane antigen was negative in all cases. Surgery with a wide excisional margin was performed in six patients. Preoperative and postoperative chemotherapy was given to five of the six patients, but the effects of these agents were negligible. Three of the six patients developed lung metastases, whereas the other three patients have remained well with no evidence of local recurrence or distant metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: Osteosarcoma with intense immunoreaction for cytokeratin was rare. The clinicopathological features were similar to those of patients with conventional osteosarcoma, except for a higher age, chemotherapy resistance, histological epithelioid features, and pleomorphism. This study indicates that osteoid formation and negative expression of epithelial membrane antigen are key features in the differentiation from metastatic carcinoma.