Summary: Histopathology of gynaecological cancers
- Primary ovarian tumours consist of GCTs, SCSTs and epithelial tumours
- The majority of GCTs are benign, and the majority of SCSTs are benign or of low malignant potential
- Tubo-ovarian carcinomas constitute the majority of malignant tumours at this anatomical site, of which HGSC is the most common type
- The majority of malignant uterine tumours are carcinomas, which are grossly divided into endometrioid and non-endometrioid
- TCGA classification has prognostic relevance in uterine cancer, and p53, MMR and POLE are surrogate markers for this classification
- The most common uterine sarcomas are LMS and ESS, the latter divided into low-grade and high-grade entities, each with unique fusion genes
- Uterine cervical carcinomas are classified as SCC, adenocarcinoma and neuroendocrine carcinoma
- Cervical adenocarcinomas are divided into HPV-associated and HPV-independent tumours
- The majority of malignant vulvar tumours are VSCCs, which are divided into HPV-associated and HPV-independent tumours
- Genetic predisposition for gynaecological tumours includes BRCA1/2 mutations in HGSC and MMR gene mutations (Lynch syndrome) in uterine corpus carcinoma, and less often in tubo-ovarian carcinoma
Further Reading
- Kurman RJ, Ellenson LH, Ronnett BM (Eds). Blaustein's Pathology of the Female Genital Tract, 7th edition. New York: Springer Nature, 2019.
- Lheureux S, Braunstein M, Oza AM. Epithelial ovarian cancer: evolution of management in the era of precision medicine. CA Cancer J Clin 2019; 69:280–304.
- Lu KH, Broaddus RR. Endometrial cancer. N Engl J Med 2020; 383:2053–2064.
- Prat J, D'Angelo E, Espinosa I. Ovarian carcinomas: at least five different diseases with distinct histological features and molecular genetics. Hum Pathol 2018; 80:11–27.
- Singh N, Gilks CB. Vulval squamous cell carcinoma and its precursors. Histopathology 2020; 76:128–138.
- Soslow RA, Tornos C, Park KJ, et al. Endometrial carcinoma diagnosis: use of FIGO grading and genomic subcategories in clinical practice: recommendations of the International Society of Gynecological Pathologists. Int J Gynecol Pathol 2019; 38 Suppl 1 (Iss 1 Suppl 1):S64–S74.
- Stolnicu S, Soslow RA. Squamous and glandular epithelial tumors of the cervix: a pragmatical review emphasizing emerging issues in classification, diagnosis, and staging. Surg Pathol Clin 2022; 15:369–388.
- WHO Classification of Tumours Editorial Board. Female Genital Tumours. WHO Classification of Tumours, 5th edition, Volume 4. Lyon, France: IARC, 2020.
