Matrix-producing mammary carcinoma: a rare breast tumor.

Matrix-producing carcinoma of the breast is a unique subclass of metaplastic carcinoma which is characterized by the existence of a ductal carcinomatous component with direct transition to areas showing cartilagenous or osseous differentiation, lacking an interspersed spindle cell component. This article reports one such rare case in a 50-year-old woman who had a right breast mass. f0 ine needle aspiration (FNA) smears showed abundant chondromyxoid extracellular matrix to which were variably admixed carcinomatous cells. Histological examination revealed a neoplasm composed of invave ductal carcinoma with a direct transition to chondrosarcomatous areas. The case is reported not only for its peculiar microscopic characteristics but also to highlight its better prognostic features and hence, the need for its recognition.

A rare case of secretory breast carcinoma in an elderly woman: correlation of aspiration cytology and histology.

Secretory carcinoma (SC) of the breast is an extremely rare neoplasm, often associated with a very good prognosis. It is still rarer in adults, where it is potentially more aggressive than in childhood. The present case refers to a 52 year old female with a progressively growing lump in the right breast. The cytological and histopathological findings were characteristic of secretory carcinoma. The differential diagnoses are discussed and the pertinent literature is reviewed.

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma arising in Warthin's tumor: a case report.

Malignant transformation of the epithelial component of Warthin's tumor is extremely rare. We describe our experience of mucoepidermoid carcinoma arising in Warthin's tumor of the parotid gland in a 35 year old female. The tumor removed from the parotid region was well encapsulated and histologically comprised ofmucoepidermoid carcinoma along with areas of Warthin's tumor. The pathogenesis and differential diagnosis of this rare occurrence have been discussed.

Fine needle aspiration cytology of breast carcinoma with neuroendocrine features--a case report with histopathological and immunohistochemical correlation.

Cytohistological and immunohistochemical features of a rare case of breast carcinoma with diffuse neuroendocrine features occurring in an elderly female patient is reported. Cytology demonstrated predominantly single and loose clusters of monomorphic plasmacytoid tumor cells that possessed moderate amounts of basophilic cytoplasm with eccentrically placed nuclei. These cells were also showing conspicuos rosette like formations. Histological examination showed a typical endocrine pattern with organoid nests and ribbons of well differentiated monomorphic cells with frequent pseudorosette formation resembling carcinoid tumor of gastrointestinal tract. Neuroendocrine differentiation was confirmed by immunohistochemical positivity for neuron specific enolase, synaptophysin and chromagranin.

Mucinous cystadenoma of the renal pelvis with malignant transformation: a case report.

A mucinous cystadenoma of the renal pelvis with malignant transformation is an extremely rare entity. We discuss one such rare occurrence in a 62 year old female who developed mucinous nephrosis due to marked retention of mucin produced by the tumor.

Calcifying fibrous pseudotumor of the soft palate--a case report.

Calcifying fibrous pseudotumor has recently been described in the soft tissues. It is a rare benign lesion characterized by the presence of abundant hyalinized collagen with psammomatous or dystrophic calcification, and lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate. We report one such rare case in an 18 year old female with a nodular mass in the soft palate treated by complete resection. The mass had all the pathologic features of a calcifying fibrous pseudo-tumor.

Focal eosinophilic myositis--a rare cause of pseudotumor.

Idiopathic focal eosinophilic myositis is a rare benign pseudotumor of skeletal muscle of unknown cause, characterized by focal eosinophilic infiltration of striated muscle. It can mimic a soft tissue sarcoma clinically and on gross examination of the specimen. Microscopic examination establishes the diagnosis. It is important to recognize this pseudosarcomatous lesion so as to spare the patient from anxiety.

Invasive lobular carcinoma of male breast--a case report.

A 56 year old male presented with painless subareolar lump in the left breast was subsequently diagnosed as invasive lobular carcinoma. This case is reported in view of its rarity.

Apocrine carcinoma of the breast presenting as a solitary cyst: cytological and histopathological study of a case.

Apocrine carcinoma is a rare, unique and morphologically distinct type of invasive breast carcinoma. This tumor has predilection for elderly females (6th and 7th decade). This report is of apocrine carcinoma of the breast arising in a 27 year old female, a rare occurrence in this age group, with only a few cases on record.

True malignant mixed tumor (carcinosarcoma) of parotid gland : a case report.

The malignant mixed tumor (carcinosarcoma) of the salivary gland is an extremely rare tumor. By definition, it is composed of both malignant epithelial and malignant mesenchymal components. We report a case of carcinosarcoma in the parotid gland of a 59 year old man, that arose "de novo" and contained ductal adenocarcinoma as the epithelial component and osteosarcoma and chondrosarcoma as mesenchymal components. The etiologic and histologic features are presented and in addition, the literature is reviewed.

Histopathological evaluation of placentas in IUGR pregnancies.

Gross and microscopic examination was conducted on one hundred placentas. These included twenty five normal controls and seventy five from intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) pregnancies. Weight of the placentas from IUGR pregnancies were less than those of normal placentas. The incidence of infarction, intervillous fibrin deposition were much higher in IUGR placentas on gross examination. Highly significant increase in the incidence of infarction, intervillous fibrin deposition, stromal fibrosis and syncytial knotting were found in IUGR placentas compared to full term normal placentas on microscopic examination. The incidence of basement membrane thickening and cytotrophoblastic hyperplasis were also higher in IUGR placentas. All the major histologic findings pointed towards reduced blood flow to the placentas resulting in the restriction of blood flow to fetus. The information obtained from their examination can be a useful adjunct in planning and management of future pregnancies.

Evaluation of AgNORs in pulmonary lesions: a cyto-histopathological correlation.

Silver nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) were studied in one hundred specimens of endobronchial brushings. Bronchial biopsies were also obtained from these one hundred cases and subjected to AgNOR staining. These included twenty histologically normal cases, ten cases of inflammatory pathology and seventy cases of pulmonary neoplasms. Fixed cytologic smears and three micron thick sections of paraffin embedded tissue were subjected to AgNOR staining. The mean AgNOR counts in bronchial tissue showed a progressive and statistically significant increase from normal, through inflammatory to neoplastic lesions in both cytologic smears and histopathologic specimens. The AgNOR technique is simple, inexpensive and a useful adjunct to routine histopathology, to evaluate pulmonary lesions. The counts, however, cannot be standardized for a particular lesion as there are inter-laboratory variations.