Intravascular adenomyomatosis: a morphologic variant of intravenous leiomyomatosis associated with endometriosis and potential for misdiagnosis

Hum Pathol. 2022 Feb:120:18-25. doi: 10.1016/j.humpath.2021.11.009. Epub 2021 Nov 29.

Abstract

Intravenous leiomyomatosis (IVL) is a quasi-malignant smooth muscle tumor involving lymphatic and venous spaces of the myometrium. Rare cases of IVL with admixed endometrial glands and stroma have been described, termed intravascular adenomyomatosis. We report four additional cases of intravascular adenomyomatosis and expand the clinicopathologic features of these rare tumors. Patients were 39-45 years old and presented with symptoms of dysmenorrhea, postmenopausal bleeding, or pelvic mass. All cases were associated with endometriosis. Three cases comprised intravascular bland smooth muscle tumors with plexiform features, and in some foci, the intravascular tumor contained endometrial type glands and stroma. In one case, there was extensive (>10) foci of intravascular adenomyomatosis without evidence of associated smooth muscle neoplasm but did have an endometrial polyp with adenomyomatous features. None of the cases had nuclear atypia, increased mitotic activity, or tumor cell necrosis. The endometrial stromal components were positive for CD10 and negative or weakly positive for desmin by immunohistochemistry. Two cases underwent molecular testing for JAZF1 and PHF1 rearrangements with negative results. Three patients had no evidence of disease at the time of the last follow-up, and one had persistent but stable disease 7 years after incomplete surgical removal and megestrol acetate treatment. Intravascular adenomyomatosis is a variant morphology rarely seen in IVL that lacks characteristic morphologic and molecular features of endometrial stromal sarcoma. Similar to IVL, prognosis is likely linked to completeness of surgical resection. In this study, we found that intravascular adenomyomatosis is frequently associated with endometriosis, a novel finding to add to the literature on this rare IVL variant.

Keywords: Adenomyosis; Intravascular adenomyomatosis; Intravenous leiomyomatosis.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Diagnostic Errors
  • Endometrial Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Endometrial Neoplasms* / surgery
  • Endometriosis* / complications
  • Endometriosis* / pathology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Hyperplasia
  • Leiomyomatosis* / pathology
  • Leiomyomatosis* / surgery
  • Middle Aged
  • Sarcoma, Endometrial Stromal* / chemistry
  • Sarcoma, Endometrial Stromal* / pathology
  • Sarcoma, Endometrial Stromal* / surgery
  • Smooth Muscle Tumor*
  • Uterine Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Uterine Neoplasms* / surgery