Some believe endocervical glandular atypia (EGA), purportedly composed of cells that are less atypical than cells of adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS), is a preneoplastic precursor of AIS. We examined 246 neoplastic and nonneoplastic cervical cone biopsy and hysterectomy specimens from 221 patients for lesions composed of glandular cells with less atypia than AIS to define and characterize their association with other glandular processes. To avoid the circular argument of high-grade EGA (dysplasia) vs AIS, we set the minimum degree of AIS cells as the degree of atypia of the cells constituting a moderately differentiated invasive adenocarcinoma. Only 4 endocervical glandular lesions with mild atypia were found, 3 in patients with AIS or invasive endocervical-primary adenocarcinoma and 1 in a patient with invasive endometrial-primary adenocarcinoma with endocervical extension. There were no lesions with high-grade atypia, nor was there a morphologic spectrum of cells with less atypia than AIS. Of the specimens, 14% had benign endocervical cell changes. The percentage of specimens in each group with benign endocervical cell changes was approximately equal. Although our study is small and retrospective, it suggests that no morphologic evidence exists to support the existence of a spectrum of endocervical glandular changes that culminates in AIS.
The T1, N0, M0 subset of stage I lung adenocarcinoma is a tumor that has a 5-year disease-free survival rate of 66% to 85%. To date, there has not been a rigorous immunohistochemically detected lymph node micrometastasis study composed of patients with identical stage and type of tumors, and in which standard histologic features were incorporated into multivariate analyses. We immunohistochemically examined the peribronchial and mediastinal lymph nodes from 80 consecutively accrued patients with T1, N0, M0 adenocarcinomas and bronchioloalveolar carcinomas unselected for distant metastasis, and an additional 39 patients with similar stage and type neoplasms who were selected for their development of metastases to evaluate the prevalence of micrometastases, their association with distant metastases, and their relationship with other pathologic prognostic features. All slides were stained with keratin AE1/3. Micrometastases were confirmed with Ber-Ep4. Three immunohistochemically detected lymph node micrometastases were identified in three of 80 consecutively accrued patients (4%). These three positive stains constituted 0.5% of the 573 stains required to immunohistochemically screen all of the lymph node blocks from these patients. Among the 39 patients who were selected because they developed distant metastases, three immunohistochemically detected lymph node micrometastases from three patients were identified, which constituted 8% of patients in this group and 1% of the 280 stains required to screen all of these patients' lymph nodes. Small vessel invasion, maximum tumor dimension, and immunohistochemically detected lymph node micrometastases were independently associated with metastases on multivariate analysis. Among patients who developed metastases, there was no significant difference in the disease-free survival rate between those with and those without immunohistochemically detected lymph node micrometastases. Given the low sensitivity in terms of the number of immunohistochemical stains performed, and the prognostic significance of standard histologic features, the use of immunohistochemical screening lymph nodes from all patients with T1, N0, M0 adenocarcinomas is questionable.
We report the findings from liver biopsies of three patients with polyglandular autoimmune disease type 1. The livers in two patients had histologic features of chronic hepatitis that eventuated in bridging fibrosis and arrhosis over a period of several years. Nonspecific lobular and portal tract inflammation was present in the liver biopsy of the third patient. Although these patients did not have liver-specific autoantibodies, the liver disease in polyglandular autoimmune disease type 1 possibly represents an expression of autoimmune hepatitis.
We report the findings from liver biopsies of three patients with polyglandular autoimmune disease type 1. The livers in two patients had histologic features of chronic hepatitis that eventuated in bridging fibrosis and arrhosis over a period of several years. Nonspecific lobular and portal tract inflammation was present in the liver biopsy of the third patient. Although these patients did not have liver-specific autoantibodies, the liver disease in polyglandular autoimmune disease type 1 possibly represents an expression of autoimmune hepatitis.