Presence Of Tumor Cell Necrosis Research Articles

Interobserver Variability in the Interpretation of Tumor Cell Necrosis in Uterine Leiomyosarcoma

On the basis of the most recent World Health Organization classification, distinction of leiomyosarcoma (LMS) from leiomyoma is based on the presence of the following morphologic criteria: (1) nuclear atypia; (2) mitotic index; and (3) tumor cell necrosis (TCN). Unlike ischemic-type necrosis, which may be seen in benign and malignant smooth muscle tumors (SMTs), TCN is thought to be found only in LMS. The distinction between these 2 types of necrosis can be challenging, especially during the early stages, when necrotic foci are small, or when overlapping features are identified. The aim of this study is to assess the interobserver variability in the interpretation of TCN in uterine LMS. Thirty-four LMS cases were retrieved, and a representative hematoxylin and eosin slide showing 1 area of necrosis was selected from each case. Pathologists from 6 different institutions subspecializing in gynecologic pathology performed a blinded, independent review of the slides. Using the current World Health Organization criteria for assessment of TCN, they had to classify the necrotic foci into: (1) TCN; (2) no TCN; or (3) indeterminate for TCN. Agreement among panelists was categorized as: full-all pathologists in agreement; partial-4 or 5 pathologists in agreement; no agreement-≤3 pathologists placing the case into the same category. Full agreement regarding the presence or absence of TCN was reached in 12 cases (35%) (7 thought to show TCN); partial agreement in 16 (47%); and no general consensus was obtained in 6 (18%). Overall, the level of agreement was moderate (κ=0.436). In 8 of 34 instances (23.5%), ≥1 pathologist made a diagnosis of "TCN" and ≥1 pathologist made the diagnosis of "no TCN" for the same slide. The number of cases diagnosed as "indeterminate for TCN" by each pathologist ranged from 0 to 10 with a mean of 5.8. In 20 cases, at least 1 pathologist diagnosed "indeterminate for TCN" (59%), at least 2 and 3 were undecided in 10 (29%) and 4 (12%) cases, respectively, and 4 pathologists diagnosed "indeterminate for TCN" in 1 instance. When excluding foci of necrosis diagnosed as "indeterminate" by any pathologist, disagreement occurred in 2/14 (14%) cases. From these results we conclude that the level of interobserver agreement among expert gynecologic pathologists in the assessment of TCN in uterine SMTs is only moderate. These results further reiterate the importance of assessing for both nuclear atypia and mitotic activity when differentiating between benign and malignant SMTs and not relying solely on the presence of TCN.

Histopathologic Prognostic Factors in Stage I Leiomyosarcoma of the Uterus

Uterine leiomyosarcomas (Ut-LMSs) are aggressive tumors with an overall poor prognosis (15% to 25% 5-year survival rate). However, patients with stage I Ut-LMSs are reported to have a relatively better outcome when compared with the overall group with a 5-year survival rate ranging from 25% to 75%. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the histopathologic parameters that may impact outcome in stage I Ut-LMSs. Twenty-seven patients with stage I Ut-LMSs were identified from the files of 5 tertiary care hospitals between 1974 and 2006. Tumors were primarily staged based on pathologic information, supplemented with radiologic findings (10 cases) and clinical records (1 case). Patients with stage I tumors with no additional clinical or radiologic staging information were included in the study if no recurrence was documented after 6 months from the initial staging operation (16 cases). Clinicopathologic parameters that were statistically evaluated included age [mean, 54 y (37 to 73)], tumor size [mean, 9.5 cm (5.5 to 16)], cell type (17 spindled, 5 epithelioid, 2 myxoid, and 3 mixed), mitotic activity [mean count, 24 (4 to 69)/10 high-power fields], marked cytologic atypia (26 of 27 cases), tumor cell necrosis (12 of 27 cases), and lymphovascular invasion (6 of 27 cases). Follow-up was available for all the patients. Poor outcome was defined when patients either died of disease or were alive with disease. Overall, accounting for any length of follow-up, 16 of 27 (59%) patients with stage I Ut-LMSs had poor outcome; 7 died of disease (mean follow-up, 13 mo) and 9 were alive with disease (mean follow-up, 31 mo). The remaining 11 patients were alive and well with a mean follow-up of 48 months. However, at 2 years of follow-up by univariate analysis, only nonspindle morphology (P<0.0183) and diffuse high-grade cytologic atypia (P<0.02) were statistically associated with poor outcome. No statistically significant association with survival was identified by univariate analysis when evaluating mean age, mean tumor size, presence of tumor cell necrosis, mean mitotic count, or lymphovascular invasion. In conclusion, stage I leiomyosarcoma is associated with poor prognosis. No conclusive differences were observed among different clinicopathologic parameters and prognosis, although it seemed that spindle cell morphology and diffuse high-grade cytologic atypia were associated with longer overall survival and higher death rates, respectively.

The reproducibility of histological parameters employed in the novel binary grading systems of endometrial cancer

Objective To compare the interobserver reproducibility and prognostic value of the FIGO grading system with the histological parameters employed in the various recently proposed binary grading systems of endometrial cancer. Methods Seventy two consecutive stage I endometrioid endometrial carcinomas from hysterectomy specimens were independently graded by two pathologists. Clinical data and outcome were obtained from the patients' records. The following histological parameters were evaluated: FIGO grade (dichotomized to grades 1and 2 vs. grade 3), nuclear atypia, presence of more than 50% solid growth, diffusely infiltrative rather than expansive growth pattern, presence of tumor cell necrosis, and mitotic count. Interobserver agreement was measured by the kappa ( k) statistics. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis, log-rank tests and Cox proportional hazard regression were used to evaluate the equality of survival distributions and to model the overall effects of the various predictor variables on survival. Results The interobserver reproducibility was as follows: FIGO grade, k = 0.65; nuclear atypia, k = 0.63; solid growth, k = 0.51; infiltrative growth pattern, k = 0.38; tumor necrosis, k = 0.52; and mitotic index, k = 0.44. In the comparison of the Kaplan–Meier curves, the following parameters were associated with a significantly poorer survival: FIGO grade 3, p = 0.02; presence of more than 50% solid growth, p = 0.01; and a high mitotic index, p = 0.01. The other binary histological parameters were not significantly predictive of survival. Conclusions The proposed novel binary grading parameters are not advantageous in terms of interobserver reproducibility and prognostic significance over dichotomization to FIGO grades 1 and 2 vs. grade 3. A simple binary grade based solely on presence of more than 50% solid growth has a comparable reproducibility and prognostic value.

Stromal tumors of the jejunum and ileum: a clinicopathologic study of 39 cases.

Recently, cell size, cell density, and growth pattern were found to be reliable histologic parameters in separating benign from malignant duodenal stromal tumors. However, there are few data on the histologic features and important prognostic parameters of stromal tumors from other parts of the small bowel. Thus, we studied the clinical and pathologic features of 39 stromal tumors of the jejunum and ileum to determine which parameters would be most useful in distinguishing a benign from a malignant tumor. In all cases, the following histologic parameters were recorded: (a) predominant growth pattern (organoid, fascicular, solid, or mixed), (b) cellularity (low or high), (c) predominant cell type (spindled, epithelioid, or mixed), (d) nuclear pleomorphism (minimal, moderate, or severe), (e) the presence or absence of tumor cell necrosis, (f) the presence or absence of mucosal infiltration, (g) the presence or absence of skeinoid fibers, and (h) the number of mitotic figures per 50 high-power microscopic fields (HPF). Clinical follow-up was obtained in all cases, and the patients were considered to have suffered an adverse outcome if they developed metastatic disease or died as a complication of their tumor. In the absence of these features, patients were not considered to have suffered an adverse outcome. Twenty-five patients suffered an adverse outcome. Twenty-one patients died of disease from 1 month to 9 years (median: 2 years). One patient died at 4 days because of postoperative complications. Three patients were alive with metastatic disease at 6 months, 6 years, and 7 years. Twenty-four of these 25 patients developed metastatic disease, most commonly to the liver. Fourteen patients did not suffer an adverse outcome. Eleven patients were alive without disease from 2 to 11 years (median: 3 years), and three patients died of unrelated causes at 1, 1, and 3 years. Although there was some overlap in features between clinically benign and malignant tumors, features that were significantly associated with an adverse outcome included tumor size > 5 cm, mitotic counts > 5 mitotic figures per 50 HPF, high cellularity, the absence of a predominant organoid growth pattern, the absence of skeinoid fibers, the presence of severe nuclear pleomorphism, and the presence of mucosal infiltration and tumor cell necrosis (p < 0.05 using the chi-square and Fisher's exact tests). Features that were significantly associated with decreased survival included tumor size > 5 cm, mitotic counts > 5 mitotic figures per 50 HPF, high cellularity, the absence of skeinoid fibers, and the presence of tumor cell necrosis (p < 0.05 using the Mantel-Haenszel log-rank test). Given the fact that there is some overlap in these features between clinically benign and malignant tumors, a multiparametric analysis using the above features is the most effective way of predicting clinical behavior.