Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol 27, Issue 6 427-432, Copyright © 1997 by Foundation for Promotion of Cancer Research
H Nakayama, A Kimura, T Okumichi, E Miyazaki, H Kajihara and H Enzan
We report a case of adenocarcinoma of the rectum with foci of metaplastic
shadow cells. The patient was a 65 year old man with anemia.
Macroscopically the tumor was an ordinary rectal cancer. Microscopically,
in addition to the features of moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma
invading the subserosa, islands of shadow cells in tumor nests were
detected in both primary and one of three pericolic metastatic lymph node
lesions. Neoplastic glandular cells showed gradual transition to shadow
cells. An antibody specific for high-molecular-weight cytokeratins reacted
with the shadow cells and intermediate zone epithelial cells surrounding
them, but no CEA, low-molecular-weight cytokeratins or cyclin D1 was
detectable in them. Cytokeratin 14 was expressed only in the transitional
zone epithelial cells. The intermediate zone epithelial cells were regarded
as metaplastic squamous cells, from which the shadow cells were derived.
The patient died of multiple liver metastases nine and a half months after
surgery. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an
immunohistochemical study of rectal adenocarcinoma containing shadow cells
not only in the primary lesion but also in a metastatic lymph node.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Metaplastic shadow cells in rectal adenocarcinoma: report of a case with immunohistochemical study
First Department of Pathology, Kochi Medical School, Japan.
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