In This Issue
Clinicopathologic Study of 85 Colorectal Serrated Adenocarcinomas: Further Insights
into the Full Recognition of a New Subset of Colorectal Carcinoma
García-Solano et al Page 1359
Serrated adenocarcinoma is thought to develop along the serrated polyp pathway and can
be reliably identified by morphologic feature or by the presence of a residual serrated
polyp. Garcia-Solano and co-workers examined the diagnostic reproducibility of
previously proposed histologic criteria for diagnosis of serrated adenocarcinomas and
analyzed the clinicopathologic features and outcome of this subtype of colorectal
adenocarcinoma. The clinicopathologic features were compared with a control group of
conventional carcinomas. They observed serrated adenocarcinomas in a small percentage
of the cases and residual serrated adenomas were present in about half of the cases.
Serrated adenocarcinomas were more often associated with residual serrated adenomas,
remote serrated adenomas, or serrated adenocarcinomas with some partial features of the
tumors. There was a less favorable 5-year survival compared with conventional
adenocarcinomas, and left-sided tumors had the worst prognosis. The authors conclude
that serrated adenocarcinomas are a recognizable subset of colorectal carcinomas with
distinct histopathology features and a worse prognosis.
Merkel Cell Polyomavirus is Present in Common Warts and Carcinoma In Situ of
the Skin
Mertz et al Page 1369
Merkel cell carcinoma of the skin is an aggressive cancer associated with an increased
incidence in patients with T-lymphocyte immunosuppression such as AIDS, leukemia,
and in organ transplant recipients. A member of the polyoma virus family has been found
to be integrated in the genome of human Merkel cell carcinomas. The Merkel cell
polyomavirus has been found in most Merkel cell carcinomas. Mertz and co-workers
analyzed the presence of Merkel cell polyomavirus in benign epithelial skin tumors and
non-melanoma skin cancers of immunosuppressed renal transplant recipients and long-
term dialysis patients. They detected the polyomavirus in a small number of patients with
Bowen's disease, in common warts, in other carcinomas in situ lesions, and in seborrheic
keratoses. They concluded that common warts and carcinoma in situ can be positive for
Merkel cell polyomavirus in immunosuppressed as well as immunocompetent
individuals, and that the polyomavirus could be found in multiple skin tumors of the
same individual.
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doi:10.1016/S0046-8177(10)00268-6
Human Pathology (2010) 41