Primary primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the uterus: a report of two cases and review of the literature.

Background: Primary primitive neuroectodermal (pPNET) tumors rarely occur in adults, and they very rarely present as primary tumors of the uterus. Only 12 reported cases of pPNET of the uterus have been published in the English literature. We report two additional cases treated at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY, between 1999 and 2002.

Cytokeratin 7 immunoreactivity in rectal adenocarcinomas.

Colonic mucosa typically expresses cytokeratin (CK) 20 but not CK7. This CK20+/CK7- profile has been used to distinguish colonic adenocarcinoma from others arising in the lung, breast, or genitourinary tract. CK7 expression in colorectal adenocarcinoma has been reported to be rare, and when present, a metastatic origin needs to be excluded.

Eosinophils as a marker for invasion in cervical squamous neoplastic lesions.

A study of eosinophils associated with cervical neoplastic squamous epithelium was undertaken to determine whether their presence is a marker for invasion. Forty cervical incisional biopsy specimens of high-grade squamous intraepithelial neoplasia (HSIL), 12 with an element of invasive carcinoma, and 2 of HSIL suspicious for invasion, and follow-up excisional specimens of 27 cases of HSIL and 6 of microinvasive and invasive carcinoma were reviewed. In both incisional biopsy and excisional specimens, the presence of >or=5 eosinophils/high-power fields (hpf) and >or=10 eosinophils/10 hpf were both highly significantly associated with invasion with a high degree of specificity and positive predictive value, whereas counts below these thresholds had a high negative predictive value.

Eosinophils as a marker for invasion in vulvar squamous neoplastic lesions.

A study of eosinophils directed against vulvar neoplastic squamous epithelium was undertaken to determine whether there were thresholds per high-power field (hpf) or 10 hpf that were a marker for invasion. The presence of stromal and intraepithelial eosinophils in 33 cases of vulvar grade 3 squamous intraepithelial neoplasia (carcinoma in situ) (VIN 3) was compared with that in 38 cases of vulvar invasive carcinoma with any degree of invasion (ISC). In both incisional biopsy and excisional specimens, the presence of >3 eosinophils per high-power field (eos/hpf) and the presence of >or=5 eosinophils per 10 high-power fields (eos/10 hpf) were both significantly associated with invasion, and the presence of >or=20 eos/hpf and/or >50 eos/10 hpf was limited to cases with invasion.