Immunohistochemical characterization of endocervical papillary serous carcinoma

Cervical carcinomas with serous-like papillary and micropapillary components: illustrating the heterogeneity of primary cervical carcinomas

Recent changes in the classification of cervical adenocarcinomas have re-categorized serous carcinoma as potentially nonexistent. However, clinical and pathological profiles of cervical adenocarcinomas with serous-like morphological features have not been systematically evaluated using the latest taxonomy and biomarkers. We studied 14 cases of primary cervical carcinomas with serous-like morphologies (papillary and micropapillary patterns). None of these cases exhibited evidence of serous carcinoma involving the upper tracts. Patient ages ranged between 34 and 86 years, most presented with abnormal uterine bleeding. Histologically, ten cases were classified as human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated carcinomas (eight usual-type endocervical adenocarcinomas and two adenosquamous carcinomas), of which six exhibited a papillary pattern and four had a micropapillary pattern. The four remaining cases were HPV-independent gastric-type adenocarcinomas, which displayed a papillary pattern in one case and a micropapillary pattern in three others. All ten HPV-associated carcinomas displayed block positive p16 and wild-type p53 by immunohistochemistry, with nine of them confirmed by HPV testing. Two of the four gastric-type adenocarcinomas had mutation-type p53, one of which also being p16 block positive. HER2 overexpression was demonstrated in 3/14 (21.4%) cases (2 HPV-associated and 1 HPV-independent). PD-L1 expression was identified in 4/10 (40%) cases, all HPV-associated. Targeted next-generation sequencing was performed in two cases with a micropapillary pattern, revealing a missense variant in ATM in an HPV-associated tumor and missense variants in TP53 and SMARCB1 in an HPV-independent tumor. The results demonstrated that primary endocervical adenocarcinomas can mimic the appearance of serous carcinoma, while not representing serous carcinoma. Serous-like papillary and micropapillary patterns may be present in both HPV-associated and HPV-independent cervical carcinomas, but none of the cases studied were unequivocally serous upon detailed analysis. Our findings support the exclusion of "cervical serous carcinoma" from existing classifications of cervical adenocarcinoma.

The association between expression of p53 and aggressiveness of serous adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix

Background:

Serous adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix is an extremely rare variant of cervical adenocarcinoma. This study aimed to evaluate the clinicopathological and molecular features and outcomes of serous adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix (SACC).

Materials and Methods:

This was a retrospective study conducted based on the clinical and pathological data of seven patients diagnosed with SACC after hysterectomy, who were evaluated at the gynecologic oncologic centers between 2010 and 2019.

Results:

Five cases were diagnosed at Stage IB and two at Stage IV. All patients underwent radical hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and subsequently received postoperative radiotherapy or chemotherapy. One patient showed persistent disease, and two patients suffered recurrence. Immunohistochemical study showed that three (43%) of the seven patients were positive for p53, and among these three patients, two with diffuse strong p53 expression experienced an aggressive course with recurrences at pelvic lymph nodes, lung, and brain.

Conclusion:

High p53 expression and advanced stage may be associated with poorer clinical outcomes in SACC, which suggest that immunohistochemistry may contribute to the prediction of prognosis.

Proposal of a Two-Tier System in Grouping Adenocarcinoma of the Uterine Cervix

(1) Background: This study examined the use of a two-tier system in grouping cervical adenocarcinoma for survival discrimination. (2) Methods: A nationwide retrospective observational cohort study was conducted using the Japan Society of Gynecologic Oncology tumor registry database from 2001 to 2015 (n = 86,754). Adenocarcinoma subtypes were grouped as type 1 (endocervical usual type and endometrioid) or type 2 (serous, clear, mucinous, and not otherwise specified), based on their relative survival compared with that of squamous tumors. (3) Results: The majority of the adenocarcinoma cases were type 1 (n = 10,121) versus type 2 tumors (n = 5157). Type 2 tumors were more likely to be old and have stage IV disease than those with squamous tumors. The number of type 2 tumors increased from 2001 to 2014 (106.1% relative increase, p < 0.001). Type 2 tumors had disproportionally poorer survival compared to other types (5-year survival rates: 68.9% for type 2, 75.4% for type 1, and 78.0% for squamous; p < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, type 2 tumors remained an independent prognostic factor associated with decreased survival compared with squamous (adjusted hazard ratio 2.00, 95% CI 1.84–2.15, p < 0.001). (4) Conclusion: The survival of cervical adenocarcinoma varies largely across the histological subtypes, and the proposed two-tier grouping may be useful for survival discrimination.

Diagnostic Algorithmic Proposal Based on Comprehensive Immunohistochemical Evaluation of 297 Invasive Endocervical Adenocarcinomas

The International Endocervical Adenocarcinoma Criteria and Classification was developed to separate endocervical adenocarcinomas (ECAs) into 2 main categories on the basis of morphology such as human papilloma virus-associated (HPVA) and non-human papilloma virus-associated adenocarcinomas. We aimed to improve the diagnostic accuracy of International Endocervical Adenocarcinoma Criteria and Classification by performing a comprehensive immunohistochemical evaluation and constructing objective immunohistochemical-based algorithms for the classification of these tumors. Tissue microarrays were constructed from 297 of 409 cases used to develop the original classification. Immunostains included p16, p53, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor, androgen receptor, Vimentin, CK7, CK20, HER2, HIK1083, MUC6, CA-IX, SATB2, HNF-1beta, napsin A, PAX8, CDX2, GATA3, p63, p40, and TTF-1. High-risk human papilloma virus (HR-HPV) was detected by in situ hybridization (ISH) using probes against E6 and E7 mRNA expressed in 18 different virus types. Vimentin, ER, and progesterone receptor were expressed in a significant minority of ECAs, mostly HPVAs, limiting their use in differential diagnosis of endometrioid carcinoma when unaccompanied by HPV-ISH or p16. HR-HPV ISH had superior sensitivity, specificity, and negative and positive predictive values compared with p16, as published previously. HNF-1beta did not have the anticipated discriminatory power for clear cell carcinoma, nor did MUC6 or CA-IX for gastric-type carcinoma. HNF-1beta and napsin A were variably expressed in clear cell carcinoma, with HNF-1beta demonstrating less specificity, as it was ubiquitously expressed in gastric-type carcinoma and in the majority of HPV-associated mucinous (predominantly intestinal-type and invasive ECA resembling stratified mucin-producing intraepithelial lesion [iSMILE]) and usual-type carcinomas. HIK1083 was expressed in nearly half of gastric-type carcinomas, but not in the vast majority of other subtypes. GATA3 was positive in 10% of usual-type adenocarcinomas and in single examples of other subtypes. Rare gastric-type and HPVA mucinous carcinomas displayed HER2 overexpression. Androgen receptor was positive in 6% of usual-type adenocarcinomas. Aberrant p53 expression was found in only 3.6% of usual-type HPVA carcinomas, but it was more prevalent in mucinous (intestinal type and iSMILE) HPVAs and non-human papilloma virus-associates (particularly in gastric-type carcinoma, >50% of cases). The following diagnostic classification algorithms were developed with the above data. Carcinomas without overt cytoplasmic mucin (endometrioid, usual-type endocervical, clear cell, and mesonephric carcinomas) can be subclassified using HR-HPV ISH, ER, and GATA3, whereas carcinomas with easily appreciated cytoplasmic mucin (endometrioid carcinoma with mucinous features, HPVA mucinous, and gastric-type carcinomas) can be subclassified with HR-HPV ISH and ER.

International Endocervical Adenocarcinoma Criteria and Classification: Validation and Interobserver Reproducibility

The current World Health Organization (WHO) classification for endocervical adenocarcinoma (EA) is based on descriptive morphologic characteristics; however, it does not fully reflect our current knowledge of the diverse pathogenesis of cervical glandular neoplasia. A novel classification system, the International Endocervical Adenocarcinoma Criteria and Classification (IECC), which incorporates etiology and biological behavior into the morphologic scheme, has been recently proposed. We aimed to validate the IECC by assessing its interobserver reproducibility in comparison to the WHO system. A cohort of 75 EAs was reviewed independently by 7 gynecologic pathologists and categorized following IECC and WHO criteria based on hematoxylin and eosin material alone and after immunohistochemistry results for p16, PR, p53, Napsin-A, vimentin, CDX2, and GATA3 were provided. Human papillomavirus (HPV) in situ hybridization and polymerase chain reaction results were compared with consensus diagnoses. IECC was superior to WHO in terms of interobserver agreement with κ=0.46 versus 0.3, respectively, on hematoxylin and eosin review and κ=0.51 versus 0.33, respectively, with immunohistochemistry. Under the IECC, 73 (97%) of EAs had majority agreement (≥4 reviewers in agreement) whereas 42 (56%) had perfect agreement (7/7 reviewers in agreement). Conversely, WHO showed majority agreement in 56 (75%) and perfect agreement in only 7 (10%) EAs. Reproducibility was poor in HPV-related WHO types (usual κ=0.36, mucinous not otherwise specified κ=0.13, intestinal κ=0.31, villoglandular κ=0.21) and good in major HPV-unrelated categories (gastric type κ=0.63, clear cell κ=0.81, mesonephric κ=0.5). Classification as per the IECC had excellent correlation with HPV status (by RNA in situ hybridization or polymerase chain reaction). We have shown that the IECC has superior interobserver agreement compared with the WHO classification system, and that distinction between HPV-related and HPV-unrelated EA can be made with good reproducibility and excellent prediction of HPV status. WHO morphologic variants of HPV-related EA are poorly reproducible. Conversely, agreement is high among important high-risk HPV-unrelated subtypes. Thus, our results further support replacing the current WHO classification with the IECC.

Serous Carcinoma of the Uterine Cervix, an Extremely Rare Aggressive Entity: A Literature Review

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Serous carcinoma of the uterine cervix (USCC) is an extremely rare subtype. To establish the treatment strategy in patients with USCC is an important issue.

METHODS

MEDLINE (PubMed) was searched for all articles published after the first publication by Lurie et al. [Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 1991; 40: 79-81], reporting woman diagnosed with USCC. Because of limited numbers of studies on the topic of the study, we could not keep a restriction of eliminating smaller sample sizes.

RESULTS

A search of PubMed demonstrated that 113 cases of USCC have been reported in the literature since the first publication. The current treatment modality adopted for early cervical cancer is hysterectomy with bilateral iliac-obturator lymphadenectomy and postoperative radiotherapy (RT) or radiochemotherapy (RT-CT) if risk factors for cervical carcinoma appear. The treatment strategy for locally advanced USCC is preoperative RT-CT or chemotherapy (CHTH) with the intention to treat the patient surgically. The treatment option for disseminated disease is CHTH with paclitaxel and carboplatin.

CONCLUSION

Risk factors and a more advanced clinical stage of USCC have an impact on poor outcomes despite the use of standard treatment methods, adapted for cervical cancer. The outside-pelvic failures tend to seek effective systemic treatment.

Immunophenotype and human papillomavirus status of serous adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix

Serous adenocarcinoma of the cervix (SACC) is a very rare tumor. Our study aimed to characterize the immune profile and human papillomavirus (HPV) status of SACC, in comparison with other serous adenocarcinomas arising in the female genital tract. The pathological specimens obtained from 81 patients with serous carcinoma of the uterine cervix (n = 12), 29 endometrium, 20 ovary and 20 patients with mucinous carcinoma of the uterine cervix were reviewed. We assessed the expression of WT-1, p53, p16, HER2, CEA, and CA125 by immunohistochemistry and HPV DNA by PCR in 12 SACC samples. Their immune profile was compared with that of uterine papillary serous carcinoma (UPSC), ovarian serous adenocarcinoma (OSA), and mucinous endocervical adenocarcinoma (MEA). WT-1 and HER2 were expressed in very few SACC samples (0 and 0%, respectively), but p16, CA125, CEA and p53 were present in 100, 92, 58 and 50%, respectively. The difference in WT-1 expression between SACC and UPSC, MEA is not significant, but SACC differ significantly from OSA (p < 0.01). HPV DNA (type 16 or 18) was detected in 4 of the 12 SACC. The immunophenotype of SACC was similar to UPSC, whereas the frequency of expression of WT-1 was significantly lower in SACC than OSA. It appeared that p53 expression was associated with worse clinical outcome in patients with SACC, and that HPV infection was related to its occurrence.

Wilms' tumor gene 1 immunotherapy in pelvic gynecological malignancies

Pelvic gynecological malignancies account for 6% of all cancers. In the relapsed state, classical treatments are limited. There is an urgent need for new and personalized treatment. Wilms' tumor gene 1 (WT1) is the most important tumor-associated antigen. Although highly present in gynecological tumors, active immunotherapy against it is still underexplored. This review gives an insight into the importance of WT1 in pelvic gynecological malignancies and the first taken steps into the world of WT1 immunotherapy.

Use of immunohistochemistry in the diagnosis of miscellaneous and metastatic tumors of the uterine corpus and cervix

Uncommon tumors in the uterus present diagnostic challenges. In some cases, the tumor subtype is usually seen outside the gynecologic tract and the possibility of a uterine primary is not considered. In other cases, histologic overlap with more common uterine tumors leads to potential misdiagnosis. Finally, metastatic carcinoma may involve the uterus and cervix. Rarely, symptoms related to the uterine metastasis may precede diagnosis of an extrauterine primary. Without the proper clinical context, the possibility of a missed diagnosis is increased. One must first be aware of these possibilities, but immunoperoxidase studies are often necessary to confirm the diagnosis. In this review, unusual and metastatic tumors involving the uterine corpus and cervix and immunoperoxidase studies used to diagnosis such tumors are discussed.

Papillary serous carcinoma of the uterine cervix with lung metastasis

Papillary serous carcinoma of the uterine cervix is a rare histological variant of cervical adenocarcinoma, with a very small number of cases reported. It is an aggressive tumor and is usually diagnosed at advanced stages by the time of diagnosis. Early-stage tumors can be treated with surgery and/or radiotherapy, while late-stage tumors have been treated with chemotherapy plus radical surgery with intermittent success. Here we report a case of metastatic papillary serous carcinoma observed at our hospital, which has been treated with debulking surgery and combination chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel.

Papillary serous carcinoma of the cervix mixed with squamous cells: A report of the first case

Objective

Primary papillary serous carcinoma (PPSC) of the cervix is rarely recognized, with the aggressive and unpredictable course. Here we report a case of primary adenosquamous papillary serous carcinoma of the cervix in a woman who underwent comprehensive treatment.

Case

A 53-year-old woman presented with irregular vaginal bleeding in hospital. The patient with a diagnosis of PPSC by an intracolposcopic biopsy received radical hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, right pelvic lymphadenectomy, left pelvic lymph node dissection, and postoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Postoperative immunohistochemistry showed that CK5/6, CK7, P16, CEA, CA12-5 and P53 were positive. During 17 months after operation, the patient demonstrated distant metastases of lymph nodes and finally died of brain metastasis.

Conclusions

Papillary serous adenocarcinoma of the cervix mixed with squamous cell carcinoma has not been reported since now, and here, this is the first documented case. Despite surgery and concurrent chemoradiotherapy, which were reported as effective therapeutic strategies for papillary serous adenocarcinoma of the cervix, the patient showed a poorer prognosis. Taken together, papillary serous adenosquamous carcinoma of the cervix could be more malignant than pure papillary serous adenocarcinoma.

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Papillary serous adenosquamous carcinoma of the cervix is firstly documented here.

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Surgery and postoperative chemoradiotherapy showed a poorer prognosis in the patient.

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Mixed adenosquamous carcinoma of the cervix behaves more aggressively .

Advanced papillary serous carcinoma of the uterine cervix: a case with a remarkable response to paclitaxel and carboplatin combination chemotherapy

Papillary serous carcinoma of the uterine cervix (PSCC) is a very rare, recently described variant of cervical adenocarcinoma. This review, describes a case of stage IV PSCC whose main tumor existed in the uterine cervix and invaded one third of the inferior part of the anterior and posterior vaginal walls. Furthermore, it had metastasized from the para-aortic lymph nodes to bilateral neck lymph nodes. Immnoreactivity for CA125 was positive, whereas the staining for p53 and WT-1 were negative in both the original tumor and the metastatic lymph nodes. Six cycles of paclitaxel and carboplatin combination chemotherapy were administered and the PSCC dramatically decreased in size. The main tumor of the uterine cervix showed a complete response by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and on rebiopsy, more than 95% of the tumor cells in the cervix had microscopically disapperared. This is the first report of PSCC in which combination chemotherapy was used and showed a remarkable response.

Neoplastic Lesions of the Cervix

This review presents a discussion of the gross and microscopic features, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, and prognosis of neoplastic lesions of the cervix. Biomarkers are discussed for each entity presented - cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, squamous carcinoma, glandular neoplasms, adenocarcinoma in situ, adenosquamous carcinoma, and others.

The usefulness of immunohistochemistry in tissue microarrays of Human Papillomavirus negative adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix

Background

The origin of adenocarcinomas presenting on the cervix uteri may be doubtful, i.e. whether it is of cervical or endometrial origin, due to the overlapping morphological features. In HPV negative samples, further tests may be needed to ascertain the nature of the tumours. We aimed to explore the use of immunohistochemistry profiles in tissue microarrays in archived samples of adenocarcinoma (ADC) of the cervix from Uganda that tested negative for HPV DNA.

Findings

Five commercially available antibodies were tested in tissue array sections immunostained utilizing the avidin-biotin (AB) technique. In 26 ADC samples, HPV was detected in 13, p16 in 15 (8 in HPV positive and 7 in HPV negative), CEA in 12, vimentin in 6, ER in 0, and PR in 2. Among the 13/25 HPV negative ADC samples, five were positive for CEA suggesting endocervical origin, and three were vimentin positive (one had a mucinous endocervical histological pattern and two were ADC, not otherwise specified, most likely of endometrial origin).

Conclusions

The immunoprofiles of ADC with the antibodies studied are rather nonspecific. By using immunohistochemistry in 13 HPV negative ADC, endocervical tumour origin was suspected in five CEA positive cases while two out of three vimentin positive samples were probably of endometrial origin, suggesting that CEA and vimentin may be valuable in distinguishing HPV negative cervical adenocarcinomas from endometrial adenocarcinomas.

Prognosis of adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix: p53 expression correlates with higher incidence of mortality

We investigated the significance of prognostic markers-estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, p53, MIB-1 and bcl-2 - in adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix. In 101 patients with primary cervical adenocarcinoma, treated from 1989 to 2000, we evaluated clinical parameters in relation to these prognostic markers. Mean age of patients was 45 years. Seventy eight percent of the patients were in FIGO stage I, 16% stage II, 7% stage III and IV. estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, p53 and bcl-2 immunoreactivity was scored as 0 (up to 5% positive cells), 1+ (5-25% of cells positive), 2+ (26-50% of cells positive), 3+ (51-75% of cells positive) or 4+ (>76% of cells positive). MIB-1 was scored in 10 categories: 0-10, 11-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70, 71-80, 81-90, 91-100. The overall survival rate was 67%. Survival was not influenced by estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, MIB-1, or bcl-2 strongly positive staining. Only p53 showed significant influence on survival, even when adjusted for stage or tumor grade. In conclusion, it does not seems useful to determine estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, MIB-1 or bcl-2 in cervical adenocarcinomas as an indication of prognosis: survival is not influenced by presence or absence. However, if p53 staining is strongly positive survival is significantly worse than in tumors scored as negative or weak positive.