Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the ovary. Review of the literature

PURPOSE

Primary squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the ovary is rare. Most cases arise from a cystic teratoma or less frequently from Brenner tumor or endometriosis. We reviewed 36 cases of primary ovarian SCC reported in the literature including a case diagnosed and treated in our institution.

METHODS

Data was collected by using the key-words "primary squamous cell carcinoma" and "ovary" on Google Scholar and PubMed in April 2018. All reviewed cases were analyzed according to diagnosis, surgical approach, adjuvant therapy and outcome.

RESULTS

To date 23 articles presenting 36 cases of primary ovarian SCC are reported. Nine patients had stage I, 8 stage II, 11 stage III and 5 stage IV disease, whereas 3 patients had in situ carcinoma. All patients underwent surgery (mainly hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy). Adjuvant therapy was reported in 24 patients, 15 of which received chemotherapy, 6 radiotherapy and 3 a combination of both. Chemotherapy regimens were similar to the ones used in ovarian carcinoma (more often platinum plus paclitaxel). Follow-up period was in general short and survival varied between 9 days and 14 years, depending on the stage at diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Primary ovarian SCC is a rare entity with poor prognosis, compared to serous carcinoma. Treatment is usually extrapolated from classical ovarian carcinoma algorithms, including surgical management combined with adjuvant chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy. Further investigations are needed to define optimal treatment, such as chemotherapy regimens and the role of radiotherapy and lymph node dissection.

Invasive Lobular Carcinoma with Extracellular Mucin Production: Description of a Case and Review of the Literature

Invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast is the second most common subtype of breast carcinoma. It accounts for 5-15% of the breast carcinoma cases reported. It shows a different metastatic pattern compared to invasive carcinoma of no special type. There are several variants of this cancer including the classic, solid, signet ring cell, tubulolobular, alveolar, trabecular, pleomorphic, and mixed subtypes each one with a distinctive morphology. Invasive lobular carcinoma has been associated with intracellular mucin production, in the form of intracytoplasmic lumina and signet ring cells whereas extracellular mucin production has been related to carcinomas of ductal origin. A new variant that displays extracellular mucin production was described recently. Only nineteen cases of this rare entity have been reported to date. In this manuscript, we report an additional case of invasive lobular carcinoma with extracellular mucin production, describing its clinico-pathological characteristics, and review the literature on the same.

Synchronous Colonic Adenocarcinoma and Metastatic Lobular Carcinoma in a Colectomy Specimen: A Rare Finding

Invasive lobular carcinoma is the second-most-common subtype of invasive breast carcinoma. Its metastatic pattern is different compared to invasive carcinoma—no special type. It metastasizes more often to the gastrointestinal tract, peritoneum, pleura, and ovaries. The extrahepatic gastrointestinal tract metastases occur mostly in the stomach and small intestine and less often in the colon and rectum.

We present a case description of an 87-year-old woman admitted to our hospital with hematochezia, abdominal discomfort, fatigue, and weight loss. A colonoscopy revealed an exophytic tumor of the sigmoid colon. Metastatic disease was not found in imaging studies. A low anterior resection was performed. The pathologic examination revealed a collision tumor consisting of a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of the colon and metastatic lobular carcinoma. The diagnosis was challenging due to the lack of a previous history. Also, the diffuse architectural pattern and signet ring cells found may be in primary signet ring carcinoma of the colon as well as in carcinomas from other anatomical sites. Immunohistochemistry was helpful in making the diagnosis. A review of the literature revealed that this is the fourth case of metastatic breast carcinoma coexisting with colonic adenocarcinoma.