BCC arises as a single lesion after prolonged exposure to sunlight or as multiple lesions in patients with xeroderma pigmentosum. The clinical presentation of BCC may be nodular and/or ulcerative or sclerosing (morfea type). Microscopy Adequate scraping should reach the dermis. Smears generally show dense compact cell groups in which, often, cytological details can be observed only at the edges of fragments. Here, the nuclei may be organized in regular lines, perpendicular to the group, producing a “picket fence pattern”. Cells are poorly differentiated with scanty or absent cytoplasm and oval nuclei with dense, compact, chromatin without nucleoli; mitoses are scanty, if present at all. In some cases, macrophages engulfed with hemosiderin or melanin are distributed across the background, representing the cytological aspect of “pigmented” BCC. In others, some nuclei are larger, with coarse chromatin and evident nucleoli, the cytoplasm is larger, denser than usual and stains orange with the Papanicolaou stain. In these cases, the differential diagnosis includes Bowen disease and squamous-cell carcinoma. Immunophenotype Not applicable Molecular features Not applicable Differential diagnosis Bowen disease and squamous-cell carcinoma.
CYTOLOGY OF BASAL CELL CARCINOMA
ZEPPA, Pio
2013-01-01
Abstract
BCC arises as a single lesion after prolonged exposure to sunlight or as multiple lesions in patients with xeroderma pigmentosum. The clinical presentation of BCC may be nodular and/or ulcerative or sclerosing (morfea type). Microscopy Adequate scraping should reach the dermis. Smears generally show dense compact cell groups in which, often, cytological details can be observed only at the edges of fragments. Here, the nuclei may be organized in regular lines, perpendicular to the group, producing a “picket fence pattern”. Cells are poorly differentiated with scanty or absent cytoplasm and oval nuclei with dense, compact, chromatin without nucleoli; mitoses are scanty, if present at all. In some cases, macrophages engulfed with hemosiderin or melanin are distributed across the background, representing the cytological aspect of “pigmented” BCC. In others, some nuclei are larger, with coarse chromatin and evident nucleoli, the cytoplasm is larger, denser than usual and stains orange with the Papanicolaou stain. In these cases, the differential diagnosis includes Bowen disease and squamous-cell carcinoma. Immunophenotype Not applicable Molecular features Not applicable Differential diagnosis Bowen disease and squamous-cell carcinoma.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
