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4 - Functional differentiation characteristics in cancer

Edited by
Prabodh Gupta  and
Zubair Baloch
Prabodh Gupta
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Zubair Baloch
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
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Summary

GENERAL FEATURES

Most of the functional differentiation characteristics in malignant neoplasia are atypical, while most in euplasia are typical. The same atypical characteristics can be found in retroplasia and proplasia, but usually less often than in malignant neoplasia. Thus these are not malignant criteria, but characteristics indicating differentiation of cancer cells to perform functions. Those cytoplasmic features should be applied only to cells which, primarily, one knows are cancers by virtue of their malignant criteria patterns and, secondarily, have these characteristics of cells differentiating toward a certain type of malignancy.

Cytoplasmic differentiation of a neoplastic cell is an attempt at maturation and to replicate the cell and tissue of origin. While most malignant criteria are represented in the nucleus, tissue differentiating characteristics are manifested within the cytoplasm.

SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA

The cells from squamous cells carcinoma tend to be shed singly; however, in FNA specimens and specimens obtained by scraping, or processed by liquid concentration techniques, small tissue fragments of squamous cell carcinoma may be observed. In the original description, Papanicolaou observed and described two types of cells – tadpole and fiber associated with invasive squamous cell carcinoma. Dr. Ruth Graham working in his laboratory observed the third type cell in the same smears. These three cell types are the hallmarks of the invasive squamous cell tumors and are depicted in Figures 4.1 and 4.2.

Type
Chapter
Information
Cytohistology
Essential and Basic Concepts
 , pp. 95 - 126
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2000

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