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Background: Papillary squamotransitional cell carcinoma (PSCC) is a distinctive subcategory of squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix. It has a propensity for local recurrence and late metastasis. Histologically, it can be misinterpreted as transitional cell carcinoma, or other papillary lesions of the cervix including squamous papilloma, verrucous carcinoma or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 with papillary configuration. Materials and Methods: Nine cases of PSCC of the uterine cervix were diagnosed on a cervical biopsy specimen on routine hematoxylin and eosin (H and E) stained sections. Their clinic-morphological features were analyzed. The cases were further evaluated immunohistochemically by cytokeratin 7 (CK7), cytokeratin 20 (CK20), p53 and Ki-67. Results: The patients ranged in age from 35 years to 75 years; with abnormal uterine bleeding being the most common clinical presentation. All the cases showed papillary architecture with fibrovascular cores lined by multilayered atypical epithelium. Three cell types were observed: Clear, intermediate and basaloid. Stromal invasion was seen in five cases, whereas in the remaining four cases, the biopsy specimen was too superficial to definitely assess invasion. Immunohistochemically, eight cases were CK7 + /CK20 - and one case was CK7 - /CK20 - . All nine cases showed nuclear accumulation of mutant p53. Moderate and high proliferative activity was observed in two and seven cases, respectively. Five of patients for whom follow-up information was available underwent radical hysterectomy and two of them were disease free 18 months following treatment. Conclusion: PSCC of the uterine cervix are a clinicomorphologically distinct group of cervical lesions that display a morphologic spectrum. They are potentially aggressive malignant tumors that should be distinguished from transitional cell carcinoma and other papillary lesions of the uterine cervix.

The most common soft tissue sarcomas of hand are epitheloid sarcomas, synovial sarcomas and malignant fibrous histiocytomas which are high grade, aggressive tumors. Liposarcomas of the hand are extremely rare and to the best of our knowledge less than 20 cases have been reported so far in the literature. Well differentiated spindle cell liposarcoma is an extremely rare subtype of well differentiated liposarcoma/atypical lipomatous tumor which is different from the other subtypes clinicopathologically, genetically and prognostically. Palmar localization of this rare variant of liposarcoma at this site makes ours only the second case reported in the world literature so far. This recently described entity is low grade lesion and the hand surgeons need to adopt a less aggressive approach in the treatment of this subtype.

A 65-year-old lady presented with an ulcerated lesion over the occipital region of nine-year duration, an incisional biopsy of which was reported as squamous-cell carcinoma. A wide local excision was performed and the tissue was sent for histopathological examination which revealed a low-grade malignant pilar tumor. Focal invasion and atypia were noted. Immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis revealed positivity for CD34 and calretinin immunomarkers favoring outer root sheath origin. Ki67 immunostains revealed a relatively low immunoreactivity indicating the low-grade nature of the tumor; however, p53 immunostain showed strong diffuse nuclear staining confirming the malignant nature of the tumor. Proliferating pilartumors (PPT) are rare tumors and less than 100 well-documented cases of malignant PPT have been reported so far in the literature. These tumors have been recently classified into benign, low- and high-grade malignant tumors and statistically significant difference was found in their biological behavior. However, we propose that IHC can be of immense value in assisting the subtyping of the tumor, so that the behavior and role of adjuvant therapy can be validated in future studies.

Melanocytic schwannoma (MS) is an extremely rare soft tissue tumor accounting for less than 1% of all primitive nerve sheath tumors, with a predilection for spinal nerve involvement. To date, only 20 cases of cutaneous/subcutaneous MS have been described in literature.Here, we describe a case of MS presenting as a subcutaneous nodule in a 22-year-old male in right thigh. On examination, the nodule measured 2.5 x 2.0 x 1.5 cm with overlying skin showing a bluish hue and an ulcer. With a preoperative diagnosis of hemangioma, the patient was taken up for wide local excision and was diagnosed as a case of non psammomatous melanocytic schwannoma based on clinical, histological, and immunohistochemical studies. Immunohistochemistry revealed positivity with S-100, HMB-45, and Melan A with pericellular Laminin positivity. Carney's syndrome was ruled out. MS needs to be differentiated from other pigmented lesions like pigmented neurofibroma, Bednar tumor, cellular blue neavus, and especially malignant melanoma, which has an obvious ominous prognosis. Since MS can show unpredictable behavior especially in absence of overt malignant features, a long term follow up with or without radiotherapy is recommended.

A large cystic lesion in the pancreatic tail was found incidentally in a 20-year-old female during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Pre-operative work up had revealed calculi in gall bladder and in addition, a cystic lesion in pancreas suggesting the possibility of a pseudocyst. A laparoscopic enucleation of the cyst was performed along with the removal of gallbladder. Microscopic examination of the resected specimen revealed a pancreatic cystic endocrine tumor; however, this tumor had produced no symptoms. Immunohistochemical studies of the tumor cells showed positivity for neuron-specific enolase, chromogranin A, and synaptophysin indicating their neuroendocrine nature. Prognostic markers (CK19, CD10 and Ki67) indicated good prognosis. Although endocrine tumors of the pancreas are usually solid, cystic change occurs only rarely and such tumors should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients who have a cystic lesion in the pancreas in view of their rare transformation into a malignant tumor.

Background: One minute preceptor (OMP) strategy is a 5 step or “micro-skills” teaching tool for use by faculty in busy ambulatory settings, however analysis of its utility in Pathology especially with respect to resident training has not been done before. Hence, our endeavour was to introduce OMP as a teaching tool for routine slide diagnosis and also to evaluate it. Method: Post graduate residents as well as faculty in pathology were given validated questionnaires to assess perception evaluation and overall effectiveness of the teaching method, following an orientation programme on OMP. The outcomes were evaluated using Likert scale along with open ended questions and analysed using SPSS Software. Result: 30 sessions of OMP were conducted by five faculty members and the eight learners in rotation. Comparison of the change in behaviour of the learner after intervention revealed a statistically significant difference in six out of the nine attributes evaluated. OMP was found to be more effective in improving exam skills, communicating the findings, thinking of logical differentials and in motivating the learner to do self study. OMP was also perceived to be less threatening, more helpful in learning and was strongly recommended to be incorporated as a teaching strategy for teaching routine histopathology slides. Among the faculty, most agreed that OMP was an effective teaching tool which helped identify specific lacunae in learner’s understanding and were willing to adopt OMP as a teaching methodology. However, they also felt that it was more time consuming. Conclusion: The present study is the first of its kind which highlights the advantages and disadvantages of OMP as a teaching learning tool in the field of pathology especially for teaching routine histopathology slides. Although the sample size of this study was small, the positive response to OMP by both the learners and faculty cannot be overlooked. Keywords: One Minute preceptor, Micro

Introduction Ectopic thyroid tissue may appear in any location along the trajectory of the thyroglossal duct from the foramen cecum to the mediastinum. Rarely, there is incomplete descent of the gland where the final resting point may be high resulting in sublingual ectopic thyroid tissue. Ectopic thyroid tissue carries a low risk of malignancy. Most recently reported neoplasms in ectopic thyroid tissue have been papillary carcinoma of thyroid. Individual case reports of clear cell type of follicular adenoma within the ectopic thyroid tissue have been described in the literature. Case presentation We present a rare case of microfollicular follicular adenoma in an ectopic sublingual thyroid tissue presenting as submental swelling in a euthyroid 24-year-old Dravidian woman. Conclusion Findings in this case emphasize that when confronted with a submental/sublingual mass lesion, the evaluation of thyroid function tests and ultrasonography of the neck should be included in a pre-operative workup.