Pathology Flashcards
What is the most common benign soft tissue tumor in adults?
Lipoma
Lipoma: define
- A benign tumor of fat
- the most common soft tissue tumor of adulthood
- most frequently during middle adulthood
Lipoma: gross features
- soft, mobile, and painless (except angiolipoma)
- Cured by simple excision, rarely recur
- well-encapsulated mass of mature adipocytes
- Superficial tissues; proximal extremities and trunk
What is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in adults?
Liposarcoma
What are the 3 subtypes of liposarcoma, in order of worsening prognosis?
- well-differentiated
- myxoid
- pleomorphic
Where are lipomas vs liposarcomas typically found?
Lipoma: superficial (palpatable)
Liposarcoma: deep tissue (can’t palpate)
A 12;16 translocation is associated with what diagnosis?
Myxoid Liposarcoma
What is tuberous sclerosis, and what diagnosis is it associated with?
Development of multiple benign tumors throughout the body
cardiac rhabdomyoma
- Note: tumors are benign (no uncontrolled growth), but there are serious side effects)
Are skeletal muscle tumors usually benign or malignant?
Malignant
What are the 2 types of synovial sarcoma, and how do you distinguish them?
- monophasic: spindle cells in waves, no gland involvement
- biphasic: PLUS gland involvement
What are the subtypes of rhabdomyosarcoma, from best to worst prognosis? (4)
- botryoid
- embryonal
- alveolar
- pleomorphic
What soft tissue tumor is associated with trauma?
Nodular fasciitis
Contrast infantile and adult subtype fibrosarcoma.
- infantile: high mitotic rate with hemorrhage/necrosis; tends to present on axial or extremities; better prognosis
- adult: herringbone pattern; tends to present on lower extremities and trunk
What soft tissue tumor classically presents on the palm?
superficial fibromatosis
Contrast clinical presentation of dermatomyositis vs. polymyositis.
Both are characterized by proximal muscle weakness (travels distal over time), but dermatomyositis invovles skin lesions while polymyositis does not
Contrast the presentation sites of superficial vs. deep fibromatosis.
- superficial: palmar, plantar, penile
- deep: abdominal cavity, limb, girdle
Gottron papules are associated with what diagnosis?
Dermatomyositis
What is the gender incidence of Duchenne’s and Becker’s?
Both are more common in males (dystrophin gene is X-linked)
Contrast the age of presentation with Duchenne vs Becker’s.
- Duchenne will present in childhood (usually by 5 yrs old).
- Becker will be much later
What do people with ALS typically die from?
Respiratory failure (loss of control of the diaphragm)
Tongue involvement is classic for what diagnosis?
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
Autoantibodies against post-synaptic Ach receptors are characteristic of what diagnosis?
Myasthenia Gravis
Contrast clinical presentation of Myasthenia Gravis vs Eaton-Lambert.
- Myasthania Gravis: gets worse with exercise, better with rest
- Eaton-Lambert: gets better with exercise (rapid repetitive stimulation), worse with rest
Autoantibodies against presynaptic calcium channels are characteristic of what diagnosis?
Eaton-Lambert syndrome
Diplopia and ptosis are associated with what diagnosis?
Mysthenia Gravis
Myasthenia Gravis is often associated with what underlying condition?
Thymoma
Eaton-Lambert is often associated with what underlying condition?
Small cell carcinoma of the lung
What is the characteristic cell of a rhabdomyosarcoma?
Rhabdomyoblast
What are “tadpole cells” and when do they appear?
Myocytes (eosinophilic, side nucleus), appear in better differentiated rhabdomyosarcomas (embryonal)
Lipoma: histology
- Normal fat
- Clear cytoplasm
- Few vessels
- Low mitoses- small nuclei
Liposarcoma: define
- Malignant tumor of adipose tissue
* One of the most common sarcomas of adulthood (50s to 60s)
general Liposarcoma: gross features
- Deep
- fixed
- Large
- not well circumscribed
- soft tissues of the proximal extremities and in the retroperitoneum
Liposarcoma characteristic cell
lipoblast
Liposarcoma: mutation
• Amplification of 12q13-q15 and t(12;16) are characteristic of well-differentiated and myxoid liposarcomas, respectively
○ One of the key genes in the amplified region of chromosome 12q is MDM2
○ MDM2 encodes a potent inhibitor of p53
liposarcoma: 3 subtypes
- well-differentiated
- myxoid
- pleomorphic
liposarcoma: 1. well-differentiated morphology
a. Normal adipocytes with few atypical spindle cells
○ Inactive/slow
Good prognosis
liposarcoma: 2. myxoid morphology
a. abundant basophilic extracellular matrix, arborizing capillaries and primitive cells at various stages of adipocyte differentiation reminiscent of fetal fat
b. Hyperchromatic nuclei
○ Malignant behavior
liposarcoma: 3. pleomorphic morphology
a. sheets of anaplastic cells, bizarre nuclei and variable amounts of immature adipocytes (lipoblasts)
○ Aggressive and frequently metastasizes
○ Rapid growth
○ Poor prognosis
Nodular Fasciitis:define
fibrous tumor
• A self-limited fibroblastic and myofibroblastic proliferation
Nodular Fasciitis: characteristics
- young adults
- upper extremity
- A history of trauma is present in ~25% of cases
- tumors grow rapidly over a period of several weeks or months
- Typically spontaneously regresses and if excised, it rarely recurs
- Arises in the deep dermis, subcutis, or muscle
- less than 5 cm, circumscribed, or slightly infiltrative