title: Morules with optically clear nuclei in ovarian borderline endometrioid tumor.
abstract: Optically clear nuclei (OCN) have been observed in morules of some neoplasms and in some conditions unrelated to the development of the morules. We first report a case of ovarian borderline endometrioid tumor (BET) showing the morules associated with OCN. The patient was a 47-year-old premenopausal woman with a left ovarian cystic tumor, atypical endometrial hyperplasia, and elevated serum levels of FSH, LH, estradiol, and CA 125. The resected ovarian tumor measured 6 cm in diameter, and showed a papillary growth. Histologically, the ovarian tumor was consistent with BET, and the morules with OCN were scattered. Immunohistochemically, OCN were proven to be rich in biotin. An aberrant nuclear expression of beta-catenin was observed in both the tumor cells and the morular cells. Our case may suggest the possibility that the appearance of OCN with or without morules in ovarian tumors is related to endometrioid differentiation of the tumor cells, and should be recognized as a diagnostic clue of ovarian endometrioid tumors. Although female sex hormones have been reported to play a role in the occurrence of OCN, the participation of beta-catenin mutation has also been suggested.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Veterans General Hospital-Taipei and National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chiun Chei
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Mitsuyoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hirokawa
authors.forename: Zhirong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.forename: Hiroyasu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ino
authors.forename: Shingo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wakatsuki
authors.forename: Hidehisa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Horiguchi
authors.forename: Noriko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kagawa
authors.forename: Toshiaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001710:Biotin / Q000032:analysis; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology*; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D009028:Morula / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D001710:Biotin