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Investigations by the physician include imaging (ultrasound, CAT scan, MRI) and, if possible, obtaining a tissue diagnosis by biopsy, hysteroscopy, or D&C.
Ultimately the diagnosis is established by the histologic examination of the specimen. Typically malignant lesions have >10 mitosis per high power field. In contrast a uterine leiomyoma as a benign lesion would have < 5 mitosis per high power field.
Unusual or postmenopausal bleeding may be a sign of a malignancy including uterine sarcoma and needs to be investigated. Other signs include pelvic pain, pressure, and unusual discharge. A nonpregnant uterus that enlarges quickly is suspicious. However, none of the signs are specific. Specific screening test have not been developed; a Pap smear is a screening test for cervical cancer and not designed to detect uterine sarcoma.
In addition to being named based on the tissue of origin, sarcomas are also assigned a grade (low, intermediate, or high) based on the presence and frequency of certain cellular and subcellular characteristics associated with malignant biological behavior. Low grade sarcomas are usually treated surgically, although sometimes radiation therapy or chemotherapy are used. Intermediate and high grade sarcomas are more frequently treated with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Since higher grade tumors are more likely to undergo metastasis (invasion and spread to locoregional and distant sites), they are treated more aggressively. The recognition that many sarcomas are sensitive to chemotherapy has dramatically improved the survival of patients. For example, in the era before chemotherapy, long-term survival for patients with localized osteosarcoma was only approximately 20%, but now has risen to 60–70%.
Sarcomas are given a number of different names based on the type of tissue that they most closely resemble. For example, osteosarcoma resembles bone, chondrosarcoma resembles cartilage, liposarcoma resembles fat, and leiomyosarcoma resembles smooth muscle.
Tissue biopsy is the diagnostic modality of choice. Due to a high incidence of lymph node involvement, a sentinel lymph node biopsy is often performed. A common characteristic of epithelioid sarcoma (observed in 80% of all cases) is the loss of function of the SMARCB1 gene (also termed BAF47, INI1, or hSNF5). Immunohistochemical staining of INI1 is available and can be used for the diagnosis of epithelioid sarcoma. MRI is the diagnostic modality of choice for imaging prior to biopsy and pathologic diagnosis, with the primary role being the determination of anatomic boundaries.
The staging for epithelioid sarcoma takes into account size and location of the primary tumor, lymph node involvement, presence and location of metastasis, and histologic grade (a measure of disease aggressiveness)
Ancillary testing for fibrosarcoma includes IHC, where vimentin is positive, cytokeratin and S100 are negative, and actin is variable.
Fibrosarcoma occurs most frequently in the mouth in dogs . The tumor is locally invasive, and often recurs following surgery . Radiation therapy and chemotherapy are also used in treatment. Fibrosarcoma is also a rare bone tumor in dogs.
In cats, fibrosarcoma occurs on the skin. It is also the most common vaccine-associated sarcoma. In 2014, Merial launched Oncept IL-2 in Europe for the management of such feline fibrosarcomas.
PECs typically stain for melanocytic markers (HMB-45, Melan A (Mart 1), Mitf) and myogenic markers (actin, myosin, calponin).
Differential diagnosis of this condition includes the Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome and tuberous sclerosis. As the skin lesions are typically painful, it is also often necessary to exclude other painful tumors of the skin (including blue rubber bleb nevus, leiomyoma, eccrine spiradenoma, neuroma, dermatofibroma, angiolipoma, neurilemmoma, endometrioma, glomus tumor and granular cell tumor; the mnemonic "BLEND-AN-EGG" may be helpful). Other skin lesions that may need to be considered include cylindroma, lipoma, poroma and trichoepithelioma; these tend to be painless and have other useful distinguishing features.
The skin lesions may be difficult to diagnose clinically but a punch biopsy will usually reveal a Grenz zone separating the tumour from the overlying skin. Histological examination shows dense dermal nodules composed of elongated cells with abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm arranged in fascicles (spindle cells). The nuclei are uniform, blunt-ended and cigar-shaped with only occasional mitoses. Special stains that may be of use in the diagnosis include Masson's trichrome, Van Gieson's stain and phosphotungstic acid–haematoxylin.
The renal cell carcinomas have prominent eosinophilic nucleoli surrounded by a clear halo.
Surgery, with as wide a margin of removal as possible, has generally been the most effective and preferred way to attack LMS. If surgical margins are narrow or not clear of tumor, however, or in some situations where tumor cells were left behind, chemotherapy or radiation has been shown to give a clear survival benefit. While LMS tends to be resistant to radiation and chemotherapy, each case is different and results can vary widely.
LMS of uterine origin do frequently, but not always respond to hormonal treatments.
PECs bear significant histologic and immunohistochemical similarity to:
- angiomyolipoma,
- clear-cell sugar tumour (CCST),
- lymphangioleiomyomatosis, and,
- clear-cell myomelanocytic tumour of ligamentum teres/falciform ligament.
- abdominopelvic sarcoma of perivascular epitheloid cells
- primary extrapulmonary sugar tumour
Thus, it has been advocated that the above could be classified PEComas.
PEComas are rare and can have myriad features; therefore, they can be confused with carcinomas, smooth muscle tumours, adipocytic tumours, clear cell sarcomas, melanomas and gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST).
Cases of GTD can be diagnosed through routine tests given during pregnancy, such as blood tests and ultrasound, or through tests done after miscarriage or abortion. Vaginal bleeding, enlarged uterus, pelvic pain or discomfort, and vomiting too much (hyperemesis) are the most common symptoms of GTD. But GTD also leads to elevated serum hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin hormone). Since pregnancy is by far the most common cause of elevated serum hCG, clinicians generally first suspect a pregnancy with a complication. However, in GTD, the beta subunit of hCG (beta hCG) is also always elevated. Therefore, if GTD is clinically suspected, serum beta hCG is also measured.
The initial clinical diagnosis of GTD should be confirmed histologically, which can be done after the evacuation of pregnancy (see «Treatment» below) in women with hydatidiform mole. However, malignant GTD is highly vascular. If malignant GTD is suspected clinically, biopsy is contraindicated, because biopsy may cause life-threatening haemorrhage.
Women with persistent abnormal vaginal bleeding after any pregnancy, and women developing acute respiratory or neurological symptoms after any pregnancy, should also undergo hCG testing, because these may be signs of a hitherto undiagnosed GTD.
Women with a hydatidiform mole have an excellent prognosis. Women with a malignant form of GTD usually have a very good prognosis.
Choriocarcinoma, for example, is an uncommon, yet almost always curable cancer. Although choriocarcinoma is a highly malignant tumour and a life-threatening disease, it is very sensitive to chemotherapy. Virtually all women with non-metastatic disease are cured and retain their fertility; the prognosis is also very good for those with metastatic (spreading) cancer, in the early stages, but fertility may be lost. Hysterectomy (surgical removal of the uterus) can also be offered to patients > 40 years of age or those for whom sterilisation is not an obstacle. Only a few women with GTD have a poor prognosis, e.g. some forms of stage IV GTN. The FIGO staging system is used. The risk can be estimated by scoring systems such as the "Modified WHO Prognostic Scoring System", wherein scores between 1 and 4 from various parameters are summed together:
In this scoring system, women with a score of 7 or greater are considered at high risk.
It is very important for malignant forms of GTD to be discovered in time. In Western countries, women with molar pregnancies are followed carefully; for instance, in the UK, all women who have had a molar pregnancy are registered at the National Trophoblastic Screening Centre. There are efforts in this direction in the developing countries too, and there have been improvements in these countries in the early detection of choriocarcinoma, thereby significantly reducing the mortality rate also in developing countries.
A pelvic examination may detect an adnexal mass. A CA-125 blood test is a nonspecific test that tends to be elevated in patients with tubal cancer. More specific tests are a gynecologic ultrasound examination, a CT scan, or an MRI of the pelvis.
Occasionally, an early fallopian tube cancer may be detected serendipitously during pelvic surgery.
Treatment is varied and depends on the site and extent of tumor involvement, site(s) of metastasis, and specific individual factors. Surgical resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy have all been used to treat these masses, although studies on survival have yet to be conducted to delineate various treatment regimens.
Leiomyosarcoma, also referred to as LMS, is a malignant (cancerous) smooth muscle tumor. A benign tumor originating from the same tissue is termed leiomyoma. It is also important to note that while it has been believed that leiomyosarcomas do not arise from leiomyomas, there are leiomyoma variants for which classification is evolving.
About 1 person in 100,000 gets diagnosed with LMS each year. Leiomyosarcoma is one of the more common types of soft-tissue sarcoma, representing 10 percent to 20 percent of new cases. (Leiomyosarcoma of the bone is more rare.) Sarcoma is rare, consisting of only 1 percent of cancer cases in adults. Leiomyosarcomas can be very unpredictable. They can remain dormant for long periods of time and recur after years. It is a resistant cancer, meaning generally not very responsive to chemotherapy or radiation. The best outcomes occur when it can be removed surgically with wide margins early, while small and still in situ.
Prognosis depends to a large degree on the stage of the condition. In 1991 it was reported that about half of the patients with advanced stage disease survived 5 years with a surgical approach followed by cisplatinum-based chemotherapy.
Outcome of MMMTs is determined primarily by depth of invasion and stage. As with endometrial carcinomas, the prognosis is influenced by the grade and type of the adenocarcinoma, being poorest with serous differentiation. MMMTs are highly malignant; a stage I tumor has an expected five-year survival rate of 50%, while the overall five-year survival rate is less than 20%.
Staging of Uterine MMMTs is as follows:
- Stage I. Carcinoma is confined to the corpus uteri itself.
- Stage II. Carcinoma involves the corpus and the cervix.
- Stage III. Carcinoma extends outside the uterus but not outside the lesser pelvis.
- Stage IV. Carcinoma extends outside the true pelvis or involves the mucosa of the bladder or the rectum.
In gross appearance, MMMTs are fleshier than adenocarcinomas, may be bulky and polypoid, and sometimes protrude through the cervical os. On histology, the tumors consist of adenocarcinoma (endometrioid, serous or clear cell) mixed with the malignant mesenchymal (sarcoma) elements; alternatively, the tumor may contain two distinct and separate epithelial and mesenchymal components. Sarcomatous components may also mimic extrauterine tissues (e.g., striated muscle, cartilage, adipose tissue, and bone). Metastases usually contain only epithelial components.
JCT often is described as benign, however one case of metastasis has been reported, so its malignant potential is uncertain. In most cases the tumor is encapsulated.
Clinically, hypertension, especially when severe or poorly controlled, combined with evidence of a kidney tumor via imaging or gross examination suggest a JCT. However, other kidney tumors can cause hypertension by secreting renin. JCTs have a variable appearance and have often being misdiagnosed as renal cell carcinomas; dynamic computed tomography is helpful in the differential diagnosis.
Post-operatively, the presence of renin granules in pathology specimens as well as immunohistochemical analyses could help differentiating this tumor from other primary renal tumors such as hemangiopericytoma, glomus tumor, metanephric adenoma, epithelioid angiomyolipoma, Wilms tumor, solitary fibrous tumor, and some epithelial neoplasms.
Myosarcoma is a malignant muscle tumor. People with myosarcoma often wake up with the feeling as if they had a cramp during their sleep.
Leiomyosarcoma is sarcoma of smooth muscle, and rhabdomyosarcoma is sarcoma of striated muscle. However, the term myosarcoma itself still appears in the literature.
Hemangioendothelioma is used to describe a group of vascular neoplasms that may be considered benign as well as malignant, depending on the specific group member's activity.