Advances in serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma: correlation with high grade serous carcinoma and ovarian carcinogenesis.
Early serous carcinoma in fallopian tube or serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma (STIC), an early lesion limited to the epithelium of the fallopian tube and firstly identified from specimen obtained by prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy, has provided insight into pelvic high grade serous carcinoma (HGSC). Increasing evidence indicates that STIC is a likely precursor for HGSC and several studies have focused on this lesion and its clinical significance. This review addresses recent advances in recognizing STIC and its correlation with HGSC and ovarian carcinogenesis. It also describes evidence regarding the fallopian tube as a source of some HGSCs, the protocol for optimizing histological evaluation of the tubes, the spectrum of tubal lesions from benign to noninvasive carcinoma, changes in diagnostic criteria from purely morphologic characteristics to a combination of morphologic features and molecular biomarkers, and new studies about potential biomarkers. However, the direct evidence regarding STIC as the precursor of HGSC is still tantalizing due to other possibilities that may also explain the origin of pelvic HGSC. Further molecular genetic studies are required to address this important question.
Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University Nanjing, Jiangsu, P. R. China ; Department of Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Houston, TX, USA.
Hong-Xia
HX
Li
Department of Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Houston, TX, USA ; Department of Pathology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College Beijing, P. R. China.
Zhao-Hui
ZH
Lu
Department of Obstetric and Gynecology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College Beijing, P. R. China.
Keng
K
Shen
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University Nanjing, Jiangsu, P. R. China.
Wen-Jun
WJ
Cheng
Department of Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Houston, TX, USA.
Anais
A
Malpica
Department of Pathology, Forth Military Medical University Xi'an, Shanaxi, P. R. China.
Jing
J
Zhang
Department of Pathology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University Chicago, IL, USA.
Jian-Jun
JJ
Wei
Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University Nanjing, Jiangsu, P. R. China.
Zhi-Hong
ZH
Zhang
Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University Nanjing, Jiangsu, P. R. China ; Department of Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Houston, TX, USA.
Jinsong
J
Liu
D002278:Carcinoma in Situ / Q000473:pathology*; D018284:Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous / Q000473:pathology*; D005185:Fallopian Tube Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans
Serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma; carcinogenesis; fallopian tube; high grade serous carcinoma; ovarian cancer