Context.—: Pathology training programs generally prepare graduates well for the workforce, but there may be other aspects to navigating a job that make the transition from being a trainee to a practicing pathologist challenging.
Objective.
Low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma (LGESS) represents a morphologically and genetically heterogenous mesenchymal neoplasm. Previous work has shown that approximately half of LGESS are characterized by JAZF1::SUZ12 gene fusions, while a smaller proportion involves rearrangement of other genes. However, a subset of cases has no known genetic abnormalities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Pelvic washing and peritoneal fluid cytology specimens are used to detect peritoneal spread of malignancies. In most cases, identification of malignancy in these specimens is straightforward, but benign processes may occasionally mimic neoplasia and cause diagnostic difficulty.
Summary: In this article, we perform a focused review of common benign entities encountered in pelvic washing and peritoneal fluid specimens during routine practice which may cause difficulty and discuss helpful features for avoiding diagnostic pitfalls.
Methamphetamine abuse is a global epidemic associated with a wide-ranging array of adverse effects on the cardiovascular system including dilated cardiomyopathy, malignant and benign arrhythmias, coronary vasospasm, and atherosclerotic coronary artery disease. While the acute behavioral manifestations of amphetamine abuse are the most easily clinically identified, cardiovascular toxicity is common in this patient population and should be considered in this setting due to its high morbidity and mortality. The specific mechanisms for amphetamine cardiotoxicity have not been fully established, but new research implicates activation of several cellular targets including Sigma-1 receptors and trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) leading to a myriad of negative downstream effects including increased reactive oxygenating species (ROS), mitochondrial dysfunction, and modulations of intracellular calcium.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNTRK -rearranged uterine sarcomas are rare spindle cell neoplasms that typically arise in the uterine cervix of young women. Some tumors recur or metastasize, but features which predict behavior have not been identified to date. Distinguishing these tumors from morphologic mimics is significant because patients with advanced stage disease may be treated with TRK inhibitors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Secretory carcinoma (SC) of the salivary gland is a rare entity with limited published literature on cytomorphology. The authors present the largest cohort to date of SC fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cases.
Methods: FNA cases of histologically confirmed SC were retrospectively retrieved from 12 academic institutions in the United States, Italy, Finland, and Brazil.
Chordomas are rare, slow-growing neoplasms thought to arise from the foetal notochord remnant. A limited number of studies that examined the mutational profiles in chordomas identified potential driver mutations, including duplication in the TBXT gene (encoding brachyury), mutations in the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, and loss of the CDKN2A gene. Most chordomas remain without clear driver mutations, and no fusion genes have been identified thus far.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The goal of this study was to evaluate the performance of p16 staining in cell-blocks vs tissue specimens as a surrogate marker for human papillomavirus (HPV) status in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas.
Methods: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cases presenting as a neck mass with a p16 result on cytology and corresponding tissue specimens (1 January 2014 to 30 June 1920) were included in the study. The following were assessed from cell-block material: number of tumour clusters, percentage of tumour cells with p16 staining, and presence of staining in clusters vs single cells.
Background: The Milan System for Reporting Salivary Gland Cytopathology (MSRSGC) has established distinct diagnostic categories for reporting cytopathological findings, and each is associated with a defined risk of malignancy (ROM). However, the ROM is applied at the overall category level and is not specific for particular morphological entities within a category. Here, the diagnostic performance of the MSRSGC for pleomorphic adenoma (PA) and Warthin tumor (WT) is reported.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLaboratory management is a critically important but often overlooked portion of cytopathology training. Indeed, recent surveys of new-in-practice pathologists have consistently shown this to be an area of deficiency. Fortunately, there are a multitude of resources available to fill this need.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe recently adopted terminology of "Noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features" (NIFTP) reflects the indolent behavior of these tumors. In contrast to conventional papillary thyroid carcinomas, NIFTP can be managed conservatively. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in surgical and pathologic practice patterns at our institution since the introduction of the NIFTP diagnosis in 2016.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is the most common malignant salivary gland tumor. Differences inprognosis can be noted owing to the tumor grade determined using multiple grading schemes (2-tier: low- and high-grade vs. 3-tier: low-, intermediate-, and high-grade).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy (DA), risk of neoplasm (RON), and risk of malignancy (ROM) for the commonly encountered malignant salivary gland tumors mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MECa), acinic cell carcinoma (ACCa), and adenoid cystic carcinoma (ADCa) applying The Milan System for Reporting Salivary Gland Cytology (MSRSGC).
Materials And Methods: The cytology archives from 2007 to 2017 of 9 academic institutions were searched for salivary gland FNAs for the following key words mentioned either in the principal and/or differential diagnosis: MEC, ACCa, and ADCa. The original cytology diagnosis was retrospectively classified according to the MSRSGC.
Background: The Milan System for Reporting Salivary Gland Cytopathology (MSRSGC) is a 6-tier diagnostic category system with associated risks of malignancy (ROMs) and management recommendations. Submandibular gland fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is uncommon with a higher frequency of inflammatory lesions and a higher relative proportion of malignancy, and this may affect the ROM and subsequent management. This study evaluated the application of the MSRSGC and the ROM for each diagnostic category for 734 submandibular gland FNAs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Papanicolaou (PAP) test is widely used to screen for cervical cancer. All high-grade lesions such as atypical squamous cells, cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (ASC-H), and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, identified on a PAP test should be followed-up by a confirmatory cervical biopsy. In this review, we discuss the challenges in interpreting cervical tissue specimens and the various ancillary techniques used in the evaluation of cervical dysplasia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOncocytic and oncocytoid lesions represent a distinct subset of salivary gland lesions. True oncocytic lesions of the salivary gland are entirely composed of oncocytes. These are characterized by the presence of abundant eosinophilic granules due to the presence of abundant cytoplasmic mitochondria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Gynecol Pathol
November 2019
Cervicovaginal myofibroblastoma (CVM) is a rare benign mesenchymal tumor of the lower female genital tract that shows chromosomal loss of 13q14 (RB1 gene located in this region). The aim of this study was to investigate the utility of immunohistochemistry (IHC) for desmin, CD34, and Rb in diagnosing CVM. All cervical polyps diagnosed from July 2016 to July 2017 were retrospectively reviewed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To perform a retrospective investigation of our institutional experience with salivary gland fine needle aspirations (FNA) through the framework of The Milan System for Reporting Salivary Gland Cytopathology (MSRSGC) and assess the risks of neoplasm and malignancy for each diagnostic category.
Methods: All salivary gland FNAs performed from January 2009 to December 2016 were retrospectively categorised according to the MSRSGC. When available, pre-operative cytological results were correlated with subsequent histological follow-up.
Background: Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is the most common form of vasculitis affecting elderly people. It is one of the few true ophthalmic emergencies but symptoms and signs are variable thereby making it a challenging disease to diagnose. A temporal artery biopsy is the gold standard to confirm GCA, but there are currently no specific biochemical markers to aid diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurological disease characterised by the degeneration of motor neurons, which are responsible for voluntary movement. There remains limited understanding of disease aetiology, with median survival of ALS of three years and no effective treatment. Identifying genes that contribute to ALS susceptibility is an important step towards understanding aetiology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Characterize fluticasone propionate (Fp) and combination fluticasone propionate and salmeterol (FS) pharmacokinetic and safety profiles, delivered via a novel, inhalation-driven, multidose dry powder inhaler (MDPI).
Methods: This multicenter, open-label, four-period crossover, single-dose study randomized patients aged ≥12 years with persistent asthma to Fp MDPI 200 mcg, FS MDPI 200/12.5 mcg, Fp dry powder inhaler (DPI) 500 mcg (250 mcg × 2 inhalations), or FS DPI 500/50 mcg.