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Papillary thyroid carcinoma with nodular fasciitis-like stroma is one of the rare variants of papillary thyroid carcinoma. The problems posed by the exuberant nodular fasciitis-like stroma, which obscures the neoplastic nature of the tumor, are recognized in surgical pathology but have received little attention in the cytopathology literature. We report a rare case of papillary thyroid carcinoma in which nodular fasciitis-like stroma posed difficulty on fine-needle aspiration cytology. The differential diagnosis of fibroproliferative processes in thyroid fine-needle aspirations is also discussed.

To compare the immunohistochemical expression of Bcl-2 in uterine leiomyomas in patients undergoing myomectomy or hysterectomy with and without preoperative treatment with the gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor agonist (GnRH-a) leuprolide acetate (LA).Retrospective case-control study. Seventeen patients with symptomatic uterine leiomyomata were included. Of the 17 patients, 7 were treated with LA (3.75 mg) in three monthly doses prior to myomectomy or hysterectomy. Ten patients who did not receive LA and underwent hysterectomy for leiomyomas served as controls. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded archival tissue from 17 leiomyomas were immunostained with a monoclonal antibody against Bcl-2 protein. Positivity was scored semiquantitatively on a three-tier scale.Immunostaining for Bcl-2 protein was intense (2-3+) in 7 LA-treated and 10 untreated leiomyomas but was scarce (0-1+) in normal myometrial smooth muscle.Abundant expression of Bcl-2 protein may be responsible for the growth of leiomyomas by preventing apoptotic cell death. Its increased expression is maintained in GnRH-a-treated leiomyomas.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) arising in acquired cystic kidney disease (ACKD) is considered to be a tumor of low malignant potential, compared with classic RCC. The aim of the present study was to identify any significant differences in the antigenic profiles or tumor cell proliferative activity of ACKD-associated RCC and classic RCC that might be responsible for differences in their biologic behavior. We studied the immunohistochemical profiles and proliferative activity of 12 classic RCCs and 5 ACKD-associated RCCs with markers of proximal tubules (Leu M1, alpha-1 antitrypsin, CAM 5.2), markers of distal tubules (Arachis hypogaea lectin, AE1/AE3, epithelial membrane antigen [EMAJ, CAM 5.2), vimentin, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). We performed proliferation analysis with the CAS 200 image analysis system. For each case, 8 to 20 fields of tumor tissue in the areas of maximal PCNA staining were quantitated, and the percentage of PCNA-positive nuclear area for each individual tumor was calculated. All of the five ACKD-associated RCCs expressed AE1/AE3, EMA, and CAM 5.2 in more than 50% of the tumor cells. Arachis hypogaea lectin was significantly expressed in three of the five ACKD-associated RCCs. Leu M1 and alpha-1 antitrypsin reacted with fewer than 10% of the tumor cells in all of the five ACKD-associated RCCs. In contrast, the 12 classic RCCs showed expression of CAM 5.2 in 11 cases, alpha-1 antitrypsin in 10 cases, Leu M1 in 9, EMA in 8, and AE1/AE3 in 3 cases in more than 50% of the tumor cells and a totally negative reaction with Arachis hypogaea lectin in 8 cases, EMA in 4, AE1/AE3 in 4, and vimentin in 5 cases. Although coexpression of proximal and distal tubule markers was seen in some cases of RCC in either category, there was uniform and strong staining for distal tubule markers in ACKD-associated RCC and for proximal tubule markers in classic RCC. The mean percentage of PCNA-positive nuclear area for the ACKD-associated RCCs (2.41%) was significantly (P.05) less than that of the classic RCCs (21.42%). The differences in expression of proximal and distal tubule markers and proliferative activity might be responsible for the differences in the biologic behavior of ACKD-associated RCC and classic RCC.

We describe an unusual case of a basaloid squamous-cell carcinoma (BSCC) of the tonsil in a 56-yr-old man that metastasized to a primary renal-cell carcinoma (RCC) and the lung. The diagnosis of the second primary, the RCC, was based on fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology. A subsequent nephrectomy specimen revealed BSCC metastatic to RCC, clear-cell type. Retrospective analysis of the FNA of the renal mass revealed classic RCC morphology and, in addition, another cytologically distinctive pattern characterized by occasional sheets of cohesive neoplastic cells with hyperchromatic nuclei and nuclear molding representative of BSCC. The cytologic features of a subsequent FNA of the lung were characteristic of metastatic BSCC. Our retrospective analysis of cytologic material from the renal mass underscores the importance of raising the possibility of tumor-to-tumor metastasis when distinctly different morphologic features are seen in an otherwise typical cytology of a neoplasm in patients with an already known or suspected second primary. To our knowledge, this case report is the first one documenting metastasis of BSCC to RCC.