Extrauterine lesions of intermediate trophoblast.
Academic Article
Overview
abstract
Lesions of intermediate trophoblast arising in the uterus include exaggerated placental site, placental site nodule, placental site trophoblastic tumor (PSTT), and epithelioid trophoblastic tumor. Only 12 examples of extrauterine lesions of intermediate trophoblast (ELIT) have been previously reported; 7 new cases are described herein. Six lesions were located in the fallopian tube or paratubal region and one in the ovary. The patients were 25 to 47 (average 36) years of age. The lesions ranged from 0.6 to 4 cm in diameter; four were cystic. The four placental site nodules (three tubal, one paratubal) were composed of small, sharply circumscribed nodules of intermediate trophoblast with no mitotic activity. The three PSTTs (two tubal, one ovarian) exhibited irregular stromal infiltration by intermediate trophoblast, mitotic activity, and necrosis. Chronic salpingitis was seen in the six tubal/paratubal cases, and endometriosis was seen in four cases. Immunoreactivity for human placental lactogen, human chorionic gonadotropin, and cytokeratin in two cases was consistent with an origin from intermediate trophoblast. ELITs presumably arise from previous ectopic pregnancies, a history of which was present in two of these patients. Follow-up, available on two of the three patients with PSTT, was uneventful at 6 and 12 years, but study of additional cases is necessary to reliably determine the behavior of extrauterine PSTTs.
