Paraneoplastic nodular regenerative hyperplasia of the liver associated with placental site trophoblastic tumor

Ovarian non-gestational placental site trophoblastic tumor with lung metastasis: further evidence for a distinct category of trophoblastic neoplasm

We previously described a series of cases which characterize a distinct group of primary ovarian placental site trophoblastic tumor (PSTT) and epithelioid trophoblastic tumor (ETT) as a non-gestational set consistent with germ cell type/origin. Here we report a new case of ovarian non-gestational PSTT. The patient was a 13 year-old young female admitted for a spontaneous pneumothorax of the left lung. The pathology of lung wedge excision specimen demonstrated metastatic PSTT and ovarian biopsy showed atypical intermediate trophoblastic proliferation which was found to be PSTT in the subsequent salpingo-oophorectomy specimen. In the ovary, the tumor was composed of singly dispersed or small clusters of predominantly mononuclear cells and rare multinucleated cells extensively infiltrating the ovarian parenchyma, tubal mucosa, and paraovarian/paratubal soft tissue. A minor component of mature cystic teratoma (less than 5% of total tumor volume) was present. Immunohistochemically, the neoplastic cells of main tumor were diffusely immunoreactive for hPL, Gata3 and AE1/AE3, and had only rare hCG-positive or p63-positive cells. The morphology and immunohistochemical results support a PSTT. Molecular genotyping revealed an identical genotype pattern between the normal lung tissue and the metastatic PSTT, indicating its non-gestational nature of germ cell type/origin. This case represents the first case of such tumor with distant (lung) metastasis. This case also provides further evidence to support our recommendation that primary ovarian non-gestational intermediate trophoblastic tumors of germ cell type/origin, including PSTT and ETT, should be formally recognized in classification systems.

Nodular regenerative hyperplasia - An under-recognized vascular disorder of liver

INTRODUCTION

Nodular regenerative hyperplasia (NRH) is a rare hepatic vascular disorder which is often associated with wide variety of systemic diseases. Intrahepatic microvascular injury and subsequent altered perfusion state leads to development of non-cirrhotic portal hypertension in many of these patients. Diagnosis of NRH often remains unsuspected clinically and liver biopsy is essential for the diagnosis and exclusion of fibrosis. We herein, present clinicopathological features of 22 NRH cases. In addition we assessed CK7 and CD34 expression in hepatocytes and sinusoidal endothelial cells respectively.

RESULTS

Most of the cases were associated with systemic disorders, predominantly immunological, inflammatory and drug-related injuries. Signs and symptoms of portal hypertension were found in 86.4 % patients. Majority of the patients showed a predominant mild cholestatic pattern of liver function tests. Nearly all the (21/22) cases showed CK7 positivity in centrizonal hepatocytes which ranged from <10 % cells to diffuse perivenular positivity extending into the midzonal areas. CD34 positivity in sinusoidal endothelial cells was seen in all the cases, which was prominent in periportal areas in all cases; while perivenular (n = 20) and midzonal (n = 14) areas also showed CD34 positive sinusoidal endothelial cells.

CONCLUSION

This study highlights the role of pathologist in the diagnosis of NRH and stresses upon the need for awareness of NRH as a cause of unexplained portal hypertension in patients with underlying systemic diseases. The altered perfusion state in NRH leads to phenotypic shift in centrizonal atrophic hepatocytes and sinusoidal endothelial cells (as depicted by IHC) which may be responsible for development of portal hypertension.

A Review on the Pathogenesis and Clinical Management of Placental Site Trophoblastic Tumors

Placental site trophoblastic tumor (PSTT) is a rare type of gestational trophoblastic disease originating from the intermediate trophoblast. Compared with hydatidiform mole, invasive hydatidiform mole and choriocarcinoma, the diagnosis of PSTT is more complicated and lacks specific and sensitive tumor markers. Most PSTT patients demonstrate malignant potential, and the primary treatment of PSTT is hysterectomy. However, metastasis occasionally occurs and even causes death in a small number of PSTT patients. Most PSTT patients are young women hence fertility preservation is an important consideration. The major obstacle for PSTT patient prognosis is chemotherapy resistance. However, the current understanding of the pathogenesis of PSTT and clinical treatment remains elusive. In this review, we summarized the research progress of PSTT in recent years from three aspects: mechanism, clinical presentation, and treatment and prognosis. Well-conducted multi-center studies with sufficient sample sizes are of great importance to better examine the pathological progress and evaluate the prognosis of PSTT patients, so as to develop prevention and early detection programs, as well as novel treatment strategies, and finally improve prognosis for PSTT patients.