Life Buzz News

Risk Stratification of Uterine Smooth Muscle Tumors: The... : Advances in Anatomic Pathology


Risk Stratification of Uterine Smooth Muscle Tumors: The... : Advances in Anatomic Pathology

All figures can be viewed online in color at www.anatomicpathology.com.

Uterine smooth muscle neoplasms are a biologically and clinically heterogeneous group of tumors. Morphology is the cornerstone of pathologic diagnosis of these tumors, and most are readily classified as benign or malignant on the basis of routine histologic examination. However, rare subsets -- including intravenous leiomyomatosis, benign metastasizing leiomyoma, and disseminated peritoneal leiomyomatosis -- have a capacity for extrauterine spread despite benign cytomorphology. A further subset of uterine smooth muscle neoplasms, termed "smooth muscle tumor of uncertain malignant potential (STUMP)," are not readily classified as benign or malignant and carry an intermediate prognosis. STUMP is a protean category, whose precise definition is subject to disagreement among experts. The risk profiles of different STUMP morphotypes remain largely unresolved. Finally, multiple morphology-based systems for risk stratification of uterine leiomyosarcoma have been proposed, though none is widely adopted. Immunohistochemical and molecular prognostic markers for both STUMP and leiomyosarcoma remain in the early phases of adoption in routine diagnostic practice.

Previous articleNext article

POPULAR CATEGORY

corporate

10460

tech

11384

entertainment

12794

research

5880

misc

13727

wellness

10198

athletics

13590