Pathoma Female Genital System and Gestational Pathology Flashcards
What is a Bartholin cyst? What is the analogous structure in males?
Cystic dilation of Bartholin gland (greater vestibular gland) which lubricates the vagina, at the lower vestibule adjacent to vaginal canal
-> Greater vestibular gland is analogous to bulbourethral gland in males
Who tends to get a Bartholin cyst / how does it happen? Is it unilateral or bilateral?
Happens when the duct gets clogged due to infection / STI (usually women of reproductive age)
-> often unilateral
How do we subclassify HPV viruses?
Via DNA sequencing -> there is no difference in antigens.
What is chronic atrophic dermatitis also called and who tends to get it?
Lichen sclerosis (et atrophicus) -> commonly seen in postmenopausal women, with possible autoimmune etiology
What does Lichen sclerosis (LS) look / feel like?
Presents as a white patch (leukoplakia) in a butterfly distribution (symmetric)
-> skin surrounding vulva will be “parchment-like” -> very thin
What are the histologic features of lichen sclerosis?
Thinning of the epidermis - Atrophy of epidermis with absence of epidermal ridges
Fibrosis of the dermis - Replacement of underlying dermis with dense fibrotic collagenous connective tissue
What is the primary worry with lichen sclerosis?
Development of carcinoma of vulva
- > longstanding diseases can progress to non-HPV related vulvar carcinoma related to a p53 mutation
- > generally occurs in elderly women (70s, vs 40s-50s of HPV-related vulvar carcinoma)
How does Lichen Simplex Chronicus (LSC) develop?
Occurs due to chronic rubbing / scratching of skin
-> often seen in patients with chronic, pruritic skin disease like atopic dermatitis, or systemic pruritis (end stage renal disease or liver disease (jaundice))
How does the histology of lichen simplex chronicus differ from lichen sclerosis?
Both present as leukoplakia
Simplex Chronicus - THICKENING of epidermis (often causing leathery vulvar skin, almost like acanthosis nigricans)
Sclerosis - THINNING of epidermis
What must you differentiate from LSC / LS?
Vulvar carcinoma - also presents as leukoplakia
- need to biopsy to definitively tell the difference
What is extramammary Paget disease and how does it present grossly / microscopically?
Malignant epidermal cells in the epidermis of the vulva (skin around vagina)
Presents an an erythematous, pruritic, ulcerated lesion around vulva
Microscopically - large clear tumor cells in epidermis
How is extramammary Paget disease told apart from melanoma (which can sometimes occur on vulva)?
Extramammary Paget disease: PAS+ (stains positive for mucin = carcinoma)
Keratin +, S100-
Melanoma: PAS-, keratin-, S100+ (marker for neural crest derivation)
What structures develop the vaginal epithelium?
Upper 2/3 - From Mullerian duct - columnar epithelium
Lower 1/3 - from Urogenital sinus - SSNK epithelium
-> during development SSNK should come to replace upper 2/3 of vaginal epithelium
What occurs if you are exposed to Diethylstilbestrol in utero and what is the feared complication?
Adenosis - focal persistence of columnar epithelium in the upper vagina
Complication - Clear cell adenocarcinoma
What other complication can occur to daughters exposed to DES in utero? What is DES btw?
Smooth muscle formation abnormalities -> abnormal Mullerian structure development
DES - synthetic estrogen compound -> also increases Mom’s risk for breast cancer
What is the most common childhood malignant soft tissue sarcoma? Where does it usually arise and what is it called if it does?
Rhabdomyosarcoma
Arises as a polypoid, grape-like mass in hollow, mucosa-lined cavities, i.e.:
Nasopharynx
Urinary bladder
Vagina - classic presentation
Called sarcoma botryoides
Oddly enough these are all areas where skeletal muscle is not normally present
What will the cells look like in sarcoma botryoides and how can they be identified?
This tumor is specifically an embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma. The cell type is “rhadomyoblast”
Immature skeletal muscle cells with eccentric nulcei. They will have a cross-striation pattern on histology and will stain positive for actin, myosin, myogenin, and desmin.
What is desmin vs vimentin?
DesMin - intermediate filament of Muscle cells
ViMEntin - MEsenchymal tumors
How does the treatment of CIN and invasive carcinoma differ and why?
CIN - oftentimes very conservative management with followup Pap smear, or cryosurgery / lazer therapy, or removal of the small area.
This is because CIN is still reversible (though less likely from CIN-1 to CIN-3)
Invasive carcinoma - aggressive management -> hysterectomy and lymph node dissection with radiation therapy.
This is because invasive carcinoma is IRREVERSIBLE.
What are the risk factors for CIN?
- Smoking! Important one (along with pancreatic being a counterintuitive one that smoking causes)
- Immunodeficiency -> squamous cell carcinoma of anus or cervix is actually an AIDS-defining illness (CD4 < 500)
Immunodeficiency increases your risk for persistent infection
What is the classically presentation for cervical carcinoma?
Bleeding / post-coital bleeding
What is an extremely common cause of death in cervical carcinoma?
Hydronephrosis with postrenal failure -> due to advanced tumors invading thru anterior uterine wall into bladder, blocking ureters.
What is the confirmatory test for diagnosis of cervical cancer?
Colposcopy - use microscope to examine cervix, then apply acid to identify areas of dysplasia
Biopsy areas of dysplasia -> determine if there is cancer
What are two weaknesses of the Pap smear?
- Not as good for adenocarcinoma - incidence has not gone down
- Invalid if sampling is not done properly at the transformation zone
Do you still need to get Pap smears after HPV vaccination?
Yes -> other nonvaccinated subtypes can still cause CIN
What is the most common cause of dysfunctional uterine bleeding? Who tends to get it?
Anovulatory cycle
-> lack of ovulation occurs, so there is excessive estrogen stimulation of proliferative phase, leading to unscheduled breakdown of stroma
Common at menarche and in perimenopausal women (ovulation never occurred, so no secretory phase)
What causes acute endometritis?
Bacterial infection due to retained products of conception after delivery, miscarriage, abortion, or with a foreign body.
-> i.e. a piece of placenta or instrumentation
Purulent bloody discharge with many PMNs
What is the hallmark of chronic endometritis and what are some common causes?
PLASMA CELLS in the stroma as part of chronic inflammation, as lymphocytes and macrophages are often present in endometrial stroma
Causes: Pelvic inflammatory disease Retained gestational products IUDs -> A. israelii TB -> will show granulomatous inflammation
What is the clinical presentation of endometrial polyps and what are they associated with?
Painless abnormal uterine bleeding
Associated with the use of tamoxifen for breast cancer (endometrial estrogen agonist causes overgrowth)
What is the definition of endometriosis and the most common spot for it? Does the myometrium count?
Endometrial tissue, including both stroma and glands, outside the uterus
Most common spot is the ovary
->involvement of the myometrium is called adenomyosis, and does NOT count as a form of endometriosis, but still presents as PAINFUL uterine bleeding
What are the theories of pathogenesis of endometriosis and how does this relate to endometriosis being found in the following locations: Ovarian cavity Abdominal cavity Abdominal scars Lungs Lymph Nodes Occurring in men
- Metastatic theory:
Retrograde menstrual flow through Fallopian tubes -> explains ovarian and abdominal cavity spreading.
Hematogenous / lymphatic dissemination -> endometriosis appears in lungs / lymph nodes
Iatrogenic - surgeon moves it there accidentally -> explains abdominal laparotomy scars with it
- Metaplastic theory - multipotent stem cells become endometrium -> explains occurrence rarely in men
How can endometriosis appear grossly in the ovaries, serosa of pelvis / abdomen, and intestines?
Ovaries - “chocolate cysts” - blood-filled endometrioma
Serosa - “powder burns” - black spots on serosa
Intestines - induce fibrosis leading to adhesions and even mural-thickening of smooth muscle (Crohn’s like presentation)
How does endometriosis appear different than adenocarcinoma histologically?
There is proliferation of both the glands and the stroma
In endometrial adenocarcinoma -> Just the glands are proliferating
How can endometriosis cause infertility?
Causes fibrosis and scarring of the Fallopian tube -> impaired migration of sperm / egg + increased risk for ectopic pregnancy.
What is adenomyosis and how does it present?
Extension of the endometrial tissue into the uterine myometrium (overgrowth of basal layer into myometrium)
-> can be thought of as a local form of endometriosis
Presents with dysmenorrhea (painful menses with cramping), and menorrhagia (increased bleeding, like hemorrhage). Classically presents with uniformly enlarged uterus.
What cancer does endometriosis increase your risk of?
Ovarian carcinomas in a particular.
Endometrioid surface cell ovarian carcinoma often arises in this setting.
What proliferates in endometrial hyperplasia and what is the general underlying cause? How does it present?
Caused by a hyperplasia of endometrial GLANDS relative to stroma
Excess estrogen stimulation, i.e. obesity, estrogen replacement, anovulatory cycles, or polycystic ovarian syndrome (increased circulating estrone)
Presents as POSTmenopausal uterine bleeding
**Note that obesity is a key example because it allows for unopposed estrogen -> increased estrone without any progesterone due to lack of ovulation.
What does endometrial hyperplasia increased your risk for and what gene is associated with it?
Associated with inactivation of PTEN tumor suppressor gene
-> increased risk for endometrial carcinoma (endometroid type)
What are the two ways in which endometrial hyperplasia is histologically characterized based on its growth? Which is more important?
- Simple vs complex
- > simple = glands look nice
- > complex = glands look complicated with many outpouchings and loss of stroma - Presence of absence of cellular atypia
- > nuclear atypia is more important
What is the most common invasive tumor of the female genital tract? Which subtype is most common and who tends to get it?
Endometrial carcinoma
Endometrioid subtype is most common (80% of endometrial cancers), tends to be estrogen-related, happens in perimenopausal women (around 60 years)
What are the general risk factors which lead to greater estrogen factor throughout life? This includes risk factors for endometrial cancers, breast cancers, etc.
- Early menarche / late menopause - longer lifespan exposed to estrogen
- Nulliparity - having no kids prolongs your estrogen exposure throughout life b/c you don’t have estrogenfree period after birth
- Anovulatory cycles - prolonged estrogen exposure
- Obesity - increased estrogen conversion