Comparison of the genetic alterations in two epithelial collision tumors of the uterine cervix. A report of two cases

A case of coexistent poorly differentiated adenosquamous carcinoma (glassy cell carcinoma), usual-type adenocarcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma in situ of the cervix

Poorly differentiated adenosquamous carcinoma (glassy cell carcinoma) of the cervix is extremely rare, accounting for 1-2% of all cervical cancers. Herein, we report a case with coexistent poorly differentiated adenosquamous carcinoma (glassy cell carcinoma), "usual-type" adenocarcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma in situ of the cervix. A female patient in her 60 s was referred to our hospital and diagnosed with poorly differentiated adenosquamous carcinoma based on cervical cytology and biopsy. The tumor was classified as clinical stage IB1 cervical cancer following magnetic resonance imaging; radical hysterectomy was performed. Histopathological examination revealed poorly differentiated adenosquamous carcinoma (glassy cell carcinoma), usual-type adenocarcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma in situ, all coexisting. All carcinoma regions showed identical sizes to high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) in fragment analysis. The patient is currently alive, without evidence of recurrence, 31 months post surgery. In this case, three different carcinomas coexisted. Fragment analysis of the patient's HPV status suggested that all carcinomas were related to an infection with the same high-risk HPV type. To determine the precise mechanism of tumor development, i.e., whether the tumors were of the mixed or collision type, further studies are needed, including clonal analysis for the loss of heterozygosity pattern.

Case report: Highly differentiated endometrial adenocarcinoma that collided with uterine cervical carcinosarcoma

Uterine collision tumor is a rare pathological type composed of two or more malignant tumors. The components of these malignant tumors do not have histological mixing and are separated by the normal mesenchyme. Collision cancer is very rare, with uterine collision tumors being even rarer. Only a few cases have been reported in relation to uterine collision tumors. At present, there is no standard treatment guideline for uterine collision tumors, and a comprehensive treatment composed of surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy is suggested. In this study, we report a 54-year-old female patient diagnosed with highly differentiated endometrial adenocarcinoma with cervical carcinosarcoma. The endometrial adenocarcinoma component invaded the deep myometrium (> 1/2 layer), involving the cervical glands and interstitium. The regional lymph node metastasis from endometrial adenocarcinoma was also detected. The patient underwent "transabdominal tumor cytoreduction (total hysterectomy + right adnexal resection + greater omentectomy + pelvic lymph node dissection + para-aortic lymph node dissection) + pelvic adhesion release." In addition, she has completed adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy. After reviewing previous reports of collision tumors in different positions of the uterus, we found that collision tumors between the cervix and uterine body are very uncommon. In addition, we have not found any reports on the metastasis of sarcoid components, no matter what the composition is.

Clinical profile and treatment outcome of collision carcinoma in cervix

A collision tumor is defined by co-existence of two adjacent tumors which are histologically distinct. Little is known about the clinical manifestation, treatment, and prognosis of cervical collision cancer. The objective of the study was to investigate the management and prognosis of patients with cervical collision cancer.We retrospectively reviewed and enrolled patients with cervical collision carcinoma from 2010 to 2018 in two institutions (West China Hospital and West China Second University Hospital). The clinical presentation, pathology, treatment, and prognosis of patients with collision carcinoma of the uterine cervix were retrospectively reviewed. Progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method.A total of 24 patients were included in this study. The proportion of cervical collision carcinoma was 0.4% in the cervical carcinoma cohort (24/6015). The median age of the patients with cervical collision cancer was 42 years. The most common presenting symptom was cervical contactive bleeding. There were 23 patients classified as International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IA1-IIB. All patients except one received radical hysterectomy, in which 21 patients received bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO) and pelvic lymphadenectomy in addition. There were 16 patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy. The median follow-up time was 21 months. No patient death was observed. Recurrence only occurred in two patients. The 5-year OS rates and PFS rates were 100% and 91.7%, respectively.This study revealed that cervical collision cancer was a type of rare cervical cancer with good prognosis. Cervical collision cancer responded well to the same treatment methods as the cervical squamous cell carcinoma and was associated with few recurrence and long survival.

Clinicopathologic features of esophageal collision carcinoma: Analysis of five cases

AIM: To summarize the clinicopathologic features, pathological diagnosis, immunophenotype and differential diagnosis of esophageal collision carcinoma.

METHODS: The clinical and pathological data for five patients with pathologically confirmed esophageal collision carcinoma and 1412 patients with esophageal carcinoma were studied retrospectively against the background of the literature. The data of those patients were collected from the Central Hospital of Luohe and the Fifth People's Hospital of Luohe between January 2008 and December 2015.

RESULTS: Esophageal collision carcinoma is a rare combination of tumor types, more common in males than in females. The peak onset age is more than 65 years. It is found frequently in the middle and lower segments of the esophagus and the esophagogastric junction. Squamous cell carcinoma collided with adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma collided with small cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma collided with leiomyosarcoma are the histopathological characteristics of those five cases. Esophageal collision carcinoma represents a coexistence of two adjacent but histologically different malignant neoplasms without histological admixture in an organ. Squamous cell carcinoma collided with adenocarcinoma is the most common type of esophageal collision carcinoma.

CONCLUSION: Esophageal collision carcinoma is a rare combination of tumor types, without special clinical features, and it is difficult to diagnose before operation. Pathological findings are the only way to make a correct diagnosis after operation. Therefore, fully sampling the tissues should be performed to guide reasonable radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy and avoid missed diagnosis.

Do collision tumors of the gastroesophageal junction exist? A molecular analysis

Collision tumors are thought to arise from the accidental meeting of two independent tumors. Here we present five gastroesophageal junction tumors consisting of two collision tumors and three composite tumors (characterized by two divergent lineages originating from the same neoplastic clonal proliferation), as diagnosed on histology. In an attempt to prove this distinction at a genetic level, we performed TP53 sequence analysis and p53 immunohistochemistry. In addition, loss of heterozygosity (LOH) analysis using 10 microsatellite markers was carried out. An identical TP53 mutation and a similar pattern of retention and LOH were found in both neoplastic components of the presumed collision tumors, suggesting that both components are derived from a single precursor cell that undergoes divergent differentiation in the evolution of the tumor. In the composite group, 1 case had a genetic basis for the possible diagnosis of a collision tumor, with a TP53 mutation in the adenocarcinoma component only, and a different pattern of retention and loss of heterozygosity. These findings imply that it is not possible to recognize true collision tumors from immunohistologic appearance alone and suggest that the long-standing histologic criteria for the diagnosis of these neoplasms have no molecular basis.

Severe cervical glandular cell lesions with coexisting squamous cell lesions

BACKGROUND

In the current report, the authors present the results of a reevaluation of cytologic smears and histologic specimens obtained from patients with severe cervical glandular cell lesions (adenocarcinoma in situ [AIS] or adenocarcinoma [ADCA] of the cervix) and coexisting Grade 1, Grade 2, or Grade 3 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia or squamous cell carcinoma. The goal of the current study was to assess whether knowledge of the specific cytologic characteristics of the cervical glandular cell lesions could have made the cytologic diagnosis of these combined neoplasms more accurate.

METHODS

Cytologic smears and histologic specimens obtained from 36 patients with combined severe cervical lesions were evaluated for the presence of a range of microscopic cytologic and histologic features that were considered indicative of glandular cell changes.

RESULTS

The findings of the current study suggest that the proper identification of characteristic cytomorphologic features of cervical glandular lesions would have resulted in more accurate diagnoses of combined severe cervical lesions. In the set of samples reevaluated by the authors, consideration of these features would have increased the accuracy of cytologic diagnosis from 55.6% to 75.0%. The presence of AIS was predicted in the majority of cytologic specimens, and in most cases, the identity of the predominant subtype of AIS could also be predicted.

CONCLUSIONS

The current analysis revealed that consideration of specific cytomorphologic features of glandular lesions of the cervix increased the authors' accuracy in diagnosing combined severe lesions of the cervix. More accurate identification of intraepithelial glandular cell lesions may eventually lead to decreases in cervical adenocarcinoma incidence, just as increases in diagnostic accuracy have led to decreases in the incidence of squamous intraepithelial lesions and invasive squamous carcinoma of the cervix.

Different pattern of loss of heterozygosity among endocervical-type adenocarcinoma, endometrioid-type adenocarcinoma and adenoma malignum of the uterine cervix

It is unclear which chromosome arms frequently show loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix. To identify such chromosomal arms, LOH on 52 different chromosome loci was examined using laser capture microdissection and PCR-LOH analysis in 25 common-type adenocarcinomas, comprising 13 cases of endocervical type, 12 cases of endometrioid type and 7 cases of adenoma malignum without the component of conventional endocervical-type adenocarcinoma (designated as "pure" form). In adenocarcinomas of endocervical type and endometrioid type, LOH was commonly detected on chromosome arms 17p (62% and 50%, respectively), 1p (33% and 67%) and 22q (40% and 33%). In addition, endocervical-type adenocarcinoma frequently (> or = 30%) showed LOH on 18p (71%), 19q (50%), 19p (38%) and 16q (38%), whereas endometrioid-type adenocarcinoma frequently showed LOH on 10q (43%) and 5q (40%). LOH was only sporadically detected on 9q, 18q, or 21q in 3 of 7 cases of "pure" adenoma malignum. In a case of coexistence of "pure" adenoma malignum and adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS), LOH on 1q, 5p, 11p, 17p, 18p and 18q was detected only in AIS. LOH was accumulated on a number of chromosome arms in the adenocarcinoma at the early developmental stage before stromal invasion. Chromosomal arms that are prone to show LOH appeared to differ between the 2 types of cervical adenocarcinoma. We could suggest that "pure" adenoma malignum is of clonal and neoplastic nature in view of the detection of LOH.

Clonality of combined tumors

CONTEXT

Tumors with mixed morphologic patterns (combined tumors) are sometimes encountered, and questions often arise regarding the mechanism of molecular pathogenesis of each component and their relationships.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether different components of combined tumors contain the same or different genetic alterations, thus providing evidence for their clonality.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Six combined tumors with 2 components (in each case, both components showed epithelial differentiation morphologically) were studied by microdissecting tumor cells from each morphologic area followed by loss of heterozygosity analysis.

RESULTS

In 1 of the cases studied, the different morphologic areas contained different patterns of genetic alterations. In the remaining 5 cases, the different morphologic areas harbored identical genetic changes in the chromosome regions studied. The latter group, interestingly, included a colonic tumor with an area of tubulovillous adenoma and an area of neuroendocrine carcinoma, and 2 lung tumors with squamous carcinoma and small cell carcinoma components.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that in the majority of combined tumors, cells with different phenotypes share similar genotype and may arise from a single precursor cell. However, in a minority of these tumors, different areas may be derived from different precursor cells.

Clonality analysis of synchronous lesions of cervical carcinoma based on X chromosome inactivation polymorphism, human papillomavirus type 16 genome mutations, and loss of heterozygosity

One of the most common forms of carcinoma in women, cervical invasive squamous cell carcinoma (CIC), often coexists with multiple lesions of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). CIC and CIN show heterogeneity with respect to both histopathology and biology. To understand the causes, origin, and model of progression of cervical carcinoma, we assessed the clonality of a case with multiple synchronous lesions by analyzing X chromosome inactivation polymorphism, human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) sequence variation/mutations, and loss of heterozygosity (LOH). Microdissection was performed on 24 samples from this case, representing the entire lesional situation. The combination of different X chromosome inactivation patterns, two HPV16 point mutations, and LOH at three genomic microsatellite loci, led to the identification of five different "monoclonal" lesions (CIN II, CIN III, and invasive carcinoma nests) and five different "polyclonal" areas (CIN II and normal squamous epithelium). This finding indicated that CIC can originate from multiple precursor cells, from which some clones might progress via multiple steps, namely via CIN II and CIN III, whereas others might develop independently and possibly directly from the carcinoma precursor cells. Our results also supported the view that HPV16 as a "field factor" causes cervical carcinoma, which is probably promoted by the loss of chromosomal material as indicated by the LOH.